Once a Dream
by GloryJotter
Summary: Malon has spent her life waiting. Waiting for her father to rise to his responsibility on the ranch, waiting for her beloved horses to grow and sell, and waiting for him, the Fairy Boy of her youth, to return to her, to take her away. While destiny is not always kind, it often takes us places we never expected.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I grew up on Ocarina of Time and Malon was always one of the side characters that stood out to me the most. She seemed so strong, but strength only comes from hardship. She dreams of seeing the world, but understands her duty is to her father and LonLon Ranch. She has a friend in Link, but only when it's convenient for him to see her. Thus, this fic was born. Malon-centric, Ocarina of Time universe.**

(Obligatory) **Legend of Zelda, etc. owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

Malon smoothed her hands over her apron, letting herself feel every seam, every bump of the embroidery, before standing from the vanity and stepping into her boots. As she bent to lace them, she could hear her father stir in the basement. She could hear him grunt, sigh, and settle himself back down, the rustle of straw evidencing the shifting of his bulk back on the ground. She couldn't even bring herself to be angry about it. He had been too long this way, too long ignored, too long lazy and irresponsible. She had hoped that Ingo's betrayal would have woken Talon to the necessity of his duties, but it had merely driven the man to drunkenness.

She laced her boots quickly, testing the toes against her wooden floor, before stepping out of her room and descending the stairs. She couldn't bring herself to look at Talon, she knew what she would see. The seams of his overalls were near to bursting at his girth, his shirt was stained with old sweat and spilled alcohol, and what was left of his hair was wild and unkempt. Were he awake, his sunken eyes would stare at her dolefully as she passed, and he would promise to do a good job of watching the incubating chicks today. It's all he was good for anymore, tending the chicks before they could be released to the grounds. Mercifully, he was not awake, and she was able to exit the home unharassed.

"Morning." The man's voice came floating through the crisp morning air, slightly startling Malon. She smiled uneasily, turning to look at Ingo. He had risen early today and was leaning on the stable across from the house, arms crossed discontentedly over his chest.

"Good morning, Ingo." Malon greeted, "You're up early."

"Barn was restless last night." He grumbled, "There's probably a storm coming."

"None of the animals have been content in some time." she said, biting her lip and looking toward the sky. Though the dusky purple of early dawn seemed calm, there was a corner of the sky that remained a deep blue-black, hovering over Castle Town. A physical reminder of the death that lingered in the air.

"Seemed worse last night." He said, reaching over his shoulder and pulling at a muscle in demonstration of his discomfort. He had cleaned up his act quite a bit in the time since… he… had come, but a lack of their savior's visit in the last few weeks had made him grow ever bolder, more discontent. Ingo wanted to sleep in the house. Actually, he wanted more than that, but Malon saw through him and flatly refused. Sleeping in the barn wasn't just a punishment for his disloyalty and cruelty, it was a barrier of safety for herself as well.

"A day in the fields will put them at ease. Come." she gestured. They went around the barn to the large double doors, blocked on both sides with heavy wooden beams. Presumably Ingo had already removed the inner beam, so there was just this one left to remove. They took their places on either side of it and heaved it up from the brackets, then carried it to the side of the earthen wall. It landed with a dull thud and the doors creaked. This was her favorite part of the morning.

She pushed back the wooden doors, using her full strength in her shoulders pressed against them. The animals, at the sound of the beam's removal, had begun pushing at their unlocked stalls and shuffling forward. Now with one door flung wide and the other being pushed open, the wide expanse of the ranch's field laid bare before them, the animals moved faster, with more joy and purpose, and burst out excitedly. Ingo stood in his place, waving his arms and guiding the horses away from the ranch's entryway. When every beast had been removed from the barn and had taken their places in the field, Malon put her hands on her hips and smiled broadly. She had this. The past did not matter, the future was uncertain, but in the here and now, even with the looming death in the sky behind her, she had this.

~o~

Malon was in the silo taking stock of the milk bottles when she heard the squeaky wooden door open behind her. She tried to finish her count quickly, not wanting to lose her place, but suddenly felt rough hands on her shoulders.

"Ingo!" she screeched in annoyance, flinging her arms back to knock him away, "I've already told you-"

She spun around, then dropped the clipboard in shock.

The young man was bent over, holding his hand to his nose and looking at her with one eye. He seemed hurt, but there was a smile playing at his lips and his face was as mischievous as ever.

"And to think I was worried about you." He said.

"Oh, goddesses!" she fell to her knees, taking his cupped hand in hers and guiding it away from his face to assess the damage. There was a small trickle of blood from his right nostril, she must have got him at just the right angle. He straightened from her, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her upright, before taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping away the blood.

"Shall I tell your father not to be worried about your safety anymore?" He asked, raising his eyebrow in amusement. She frowned and punched his chest lightly before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Worried about me," she scoffed, pressing her face into his chest. "You who told me that you were heading straight into the mouth of death. I thought you died in that volcano, Fairy Boy."

"You know how I feel about that name." He groaned, but wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight. She loved the smell of him, that earthy smell that he had inherited as part of his time with the Kokiri. It spoke of trees and moonlit nights, but it was different now that he was older. It spoke to her in other ways, and she blushed at the thoughts that suddenly crossed her mind. She was just grateful that she would never be as bold as her inner fantasies.

"It would take more than a volcano to destroy me." He murmured into her hair, "I can't leave my favorite girl, you know that."

"Say you'll stay. At least the night." she said, pulling from his chest and looking into his face.

"Malon-"

"No, I mean," she felt herself blush, "I just don't want you on the field at night any more than you have to be. You have Epona with you, right?" she smiled, "Give the girl a night at home."

Link studied her face, his expression different than the one he wore when he had first seen her, and he sighed through his nose.

"I can't stay overnight, I have business in Castle Town, but I'll stay until you go to bed, and I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"What, don't you sleep?" she scoffed lightheartedly, but her expression dropped with a strange shade came over Link's expression.

"The night is too long." He whispered, then seemed to shake himself and smiled widely again before pulling her closer and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"I want to hear all your adventures before you go." she said.

"All right," He said, "It all began in Goron City…"

~o~

Malon stroked the horse's snout, whispering in old Hylian. She had loved the language in use with her horses, it seemed to put the animals at ease. Especially this one, her beloved Epona. The pony had always seemed to have an old soul, and responded well to the ancient tongue. Malon noticed with equal parts irritation and relief that the equine had become slightly distressed at the absence of her rider and kept her eye fixed on the stable door as if waiting for him to return.

"You and me both, darling." she sighed into the horse's neck, before offering a final pat and backing away, closing the stall gate with an audible clang. Link had gone, as he had said. They had eaten dinner, Malon choosing to prepare the food alone in the house and bringing it out for them to share in a corner of the pasture, and talked of his adventures.

She wasn't sure how much of his stories to believe. She trusted that he actually had gone to Goron City, and through his vivid descriptions of the amber walls and glimmering bomb flowers could almost picture the rock dweller's paradise, but the dragon? Surely not. Then again, it had been only a few days ago when the earth had quaked fiercely and the fire around Death Mountain had cooled to a ring of smoke.

"But a dragon?" she scoffed under her breath, feeling a smile pull at her lips as she turned around.

Straight into Ingo.

"Sorry." He murmured under his breath, but not moving back. She stepped away from him, hands outstretched in a gesture of defense.

"You didn't announce yourself." she said, more haughty than she meant.

"Must a man announce himself in his own home?" He sneered casting a dark eye around the interior of the stable. Malon felt annoyance press on her chest and she squared off with him, her eye meeting his straight on.

"It is as a favor that I keep you on this ranch." she said, thanking the heavens that her voice was stronger than she felt, "If you are displeased with your lot here, then there is always Kakariko."

"Kakariko." Ingo scoffed, then spat on the ground, "A place for cowards to flee and hide. What work is there for a man to do?"

"Since the passing of Dampé, perhaps they would be grateful for a gravekeeper. You do enjoy making profits from the less fortunate." she hissed. They glowered at each other for a moment before Ingo grasped her by the shoulders, pulling her towards him. She was shocked by the motion and attempted to pull herself away, but he had wrapped a hand around her neck and brought her face up to his, pressing his mouth to hers in a kiss. She screamed against the attack and lifted her leg, driving her heel into his foot. He released her with a howl and lept away. She scrubbed at her mouth furiously with the back of her hand.

"I have already told you once that I will not accept such impropriety."

"Don't think you can lie to me." He said, straightening his stance, "I saw the way you quivered in front of that snivelling little boy who came by earlier today. Here I see you whispering sweet nothings to the animal he stole from you, as if she can convince him to come back again, as if she could convince him to love you the way you-"

"You know nothing of it, and nothing of me." she demanded, starting towards the door.

"I know your thoughts," He hissed, "I watched you grow up, I know you better than you know yourself. You grow weak around him, you want him the way only a woman could want a man, but he won't give in to you. He will never give in. His purposes are far too noble to ever notice a simpering farm girl."

"You will stay your tongue, Ingo, or find yourself without one." she said, not turning around. She wouldn't let him see her face, wouldn't let him see that his words were just the expression of her fears.

"You look to that ignorant fool for comfort and ignore the one person on this world that could ever want you." He said.

"Who, you?" she spun around, meeting his eyes with an expression of total contempt, "A disgusting, disloyal old man who has all my life looked upon me lasciviously. I have never given indication of my interest, and now you have decided that putting yourself upon me by force is the preferable option."

"You are just as lonely as I." He declared, "There was once a time when the idea was not so reprehensible to you."

"You took advantage," she said, her voice low. "You took my trust, drove my father away, and claimed the ranch as your own."

"You can deny yourself," Ingo said, his voice subtly triumphant, "You can tell yourself that you never meant the things you said, you can deny the things you did, but you will never get back what I have taken from you." He leaned toward her, his eyes dark under his bushy eyebrows, "Is that why you do your best to keep me away from the Fairy Boy? You don't want him to know that you've given away his gift?"

"Speak of this no more." she said, her voice now wavering as she never wanted it to.

"Run to your home, run to your warm bed. Run away, Malon, but dream of me."

Ingo's cruel laugh haunted her into her dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Ingo was still deeply asleep when Malon entered the stable the next morning. She sneered at the sprawled figure then set her shoulder to the heavy interior beam, lifting it from the brackets alone. Ingo would claim that she needed him for the physical labor, but in reality the only reason she kept the contemptible wretch around was to keep her father out of the business. He was a boozy old fool, but he was well-meaning. If he felt his daughter was overworked he would begin making arrangements behind her back and they would lose the ranch all over again.

Ingo remained asleep as Malon made her way around the stable, unlatching the stalls. She noted with sadness, but not surprise, that Epona was gone. He always did that. Perhaps he thought it helped her, allowed her to let him go more easily, but it did nothing but make her heart ache. She allowed her fingers to linger on the latch of the empty stall, imagining the brush of his fingertips as he spirited the horse away into the blossoming night, and all under Ingo's nose.

 _If he knew Ingo's ways, he would not leave me so._ She found herself thinking, but shook out of it. She did not play the victim, it was weakness. He did not know about Ingo, did not need to. She could take care of herself.

She left the stable, circling the building and setting herself to the task of lifting the second beam. It was immensely heavy and unwieldy, but she managed it in the end and tossed the doors open. Only in the slow rumble of the passing hooves did Ingo finally stir.

"Whazzat?" The man slurred, his tongue heavy with sleep.

"Good morning, Ingo." Malon said curtly, "I trust you slept well?"

"Hardly slept with that worrisome beast blustering all night."

"Which beast would that be?" She asked, raising her eyebrow in disapproval. Ingo waved his arm toward the pasture.

"That great heavy brute-"

"Who is gone?"

"What?"

"Epona isn't here."

"Heh heh," Ingo chuckled darkly, "slipped her stall, eh?"

"No, Link came back for her in the night." Malon sneered. "Right under your nose."

"I'm not a guard."

"Then what else is your purpose? I seem to have managed the morning without you thus far."

"You will be sorry for your tart words," Ingo hissed. Malon shook her head at the man and turned away from him, setting her gaze to the horizon. There would be a storm today. Angry charcoal clouds were gathering in the sky over Lake Hylia, they would soon roll over the ranch and pour without mercy.

"Prepare the stables today," she instructed Ingo without looking at him. "We'll need to keep them in tomorrow, maybe the next day."

He grumbled under his breath and stood from the straw, taking a rake in his hand. When Malon was satisfied that Ingo was settled in his chores, she turned and went back toward the house.

Talon had stood from his pallet and was slowly picking straw from his overalls. He looked at his daughter, eyes sagging under his bushy eyebrows.

"Hello, Malon."

"Good morning, Father." Malon said, leaning forward and kissing the man lightly on the cheek.

"How is everything?"

"Wonderful." She said."How are you today?"

"Well." He said pressing a hand to his back, "I was thinking I might go into town today, stock up on some supplies, maybe sell some milk..."

Malon took stock of her father, eyes sweeping over his filthy overalls and ragged old shirt, before smiling wanly.

"That sounds perfect. Shall I come too?"

"I would love that."

~o~

Malon smoothed her hands over her father's shoulders, tugging at the seams of the shirt and straightening out the lapels. She had found a second pair of overalls tucked into the dresser upstairs and she was glad to see that the shirt she had sewn for him fit quite well. He was a different man once he cleaned up a little. Even with his sallow skin and dark-rimmed eyes, he had a good-naturedness about him that drew people in. It was one of the reasons he had been able to flee the ranch when Ingo- well, when they had both been taken in by the man's scheming.

"You are good to me, Malon." Talon said, looking down at the crisp red shirt. "You are so like your mother. She would have been so proud of you."

"We agreed, Father." She said, frowning, "No more talk of the past. It does us no good to dwell on old regrets."

"It's not easy for me, you know." He murmured, "I can't believe my own cowardice."

"I do not think it was cowardice." Malon said, running her hand through her Father's hair in an effort to tame the wild strands. "There was a darker force at work than either of us could overcome, and it's bigger even than this ranch."

Talon looked into his daughter's eyes, then scoffed.

"You still believe your Fairy Boy is going to save the world."

"I have hope, Father." Malon said, "That is all. I don't know if he can save the world, but if he can disappear for weeks without end, then return here unscathed with tales of adventures on his lips, then I have something to hope for."

"I miss the days when I had that kind of hope."

"It can return." She said, stepping back from her father and taking in the look of him. He almost looked like himself again, the round and jolly man that she had grown up with, the man who would swing little toddler Malon on his shoulders and run around the pasture, holding her legs steady as she opened her arms to the wind. The twinkle in his eye was gone, though, and he looked like a man who had lived too long with too little to sustain him. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before leading the way out of the house.

Talon made his way to the silo, the wagon already waiting outside the large stone tower, while Malon went into the stable to retrieve the harnesses.

"Where are you going?" Ingo asked, straightening his back. Malon swept her eyes around the stable, finding herself grudgingly impressed that he'd already finished mucking four of the stalls. He was a hard worker, when he put himself to the task.

"Father and I are going to Kakariko." she said, "Was there anything you needed?"

"Nothing offhand…" he glanced around the stable.

"Would you like me to research employment options in town?" She asked. Ingo looked up at her with a wry grin, which fell when he realized that she had been serious.

"N… No. I said last night-"

"The things you said last night do not need repeated." she said sternly, "I have warned you about your behavior, but my words have not seemed to have an affect."

"Malon, please. I was drunk last night, and you know how I feel about that boy-"

"You'll find I have little sympathy for drunkards and unearned jealousy."

"Little sympathy for drunkards?" Ingo asked incredulously, gesturing to Talon across the field.

"You'll note his place on this ranch. I have a duty to that man as my father, but he is good for little and would be gone otherwise." She leaned closer to Ingo, her voice barely above a whisper, "Besides the fact that you seem to think you have a claim over me due to a past indiscretion. You do not. Our past and _nullified_ arrangement do not give you a right to myself, or this property."

"You'll see my side of it someday," Ingo said, his voice low, "I am an impulsive man and prone to weakness. I make a lot of mistakes, often, but I did mean some of what I said." He looked into her face, studying her eyes, "The boy will never come back for you."

"I don't want him to come back for me," she said. "I just want him to come back alive."

~o~

Malon often forgot how large the world was outside of the ranch. She spent so much of her life contained within the confining stone walls of that strange little bowl-shaped mound, that when they left and entered the wide expanse of Hyrule Field it was like taking a deeply anticipated breath. Crows glided through the air, diving in between one another in a game only they knew how to play. The wind blew through the large aspen tree that grew outside the ranch, making the leaves shiver and sing. It was still very early, the sun having just begun to peek over the horizon, so they had plenty of time to reach their destination.

As the wagon trundled along, Malon became aware of the strained silence that lay between herself and her father. Ever since his return from Kakariko he was a changed man. He had always been lazy, but it was a source of exasperated amusement for her. He'd had a jollity about him that had disappeared after everything happened. She remembered clearly when her father had shuffled back into the ranch, weak from his long-spent months of grief, staring at her with that shame-filled expression. She had done her best to welcome him back as warmly as ever, but it did little good. A thought came to her mind and it churned the pit of her stomach.

"Father," She turned her head toward Talon, who until this point had been staring at the black cloud over Castle Town, "Father, I need to ask you something.'

"Ask me." He said simply.

"It's a very serious question." Malon said, chewing her lip and trying to think of the best way to say it. Talon didn't reply, merely turned his head to study his daughter's face. Before she could say it, he spoke.

"You want to know if I gave you to Ingo."

"I..." She closed her eyes and turned her face away for a moment, fearing that she might cry. She felt Talon's large hand on her shoulder.

"Malon... there is no excuse for what I have done. We were in a dark place, as you well know, but..." he shook his head and removed his hand from her shoulder, "I cannot forgive myself for the things that I have done. It is one of the reasons I ran away. I could not bring myself to tell you the arrangement I made with him, so I thought that you would be more open to marrying him if I were to abandon you."

"Father, how could you do that?" She asked, turning back and staring into his face. "Did you not know me at all? I've practically been running LonLon since I was a child. Did you think I _needed_ Ingo?"

"I wasn't thinking clearly, love." Talon pleaded, his hands laying open in his lap. "First the plague in castle town, then all the Gorons disappeared... the lake was draining and no one had even seen a Zora in how many years? The world was falling apart all around us, I wanted to be assured of your safety."

"A husband was my safety?"

"Ingo was your safety." He said, "Despite his sour attitude he had always been a good worker for me, I never suspected him of being capable of such cruelty. Had I known-"

"You were wrong, Father." Malon said, cutting him off. She looked down at her hands, the reigns of the harness wrapped around them tightly, "I might have been content to marry Ingo after a discussion of the fact, had the man not shown his true face so quickly, but I would have been more content with it had you stayed."

She looked at her father, tears welling in her eyes but not falling down her cheeks.

"I am not the kind of girl who goes running to shelter in the storm. I will stand in the field with open arms and scream as loud as thunder."

Talon studied his daughter's face for a long moment, before a small smile quirked up the side of his mouth.

"You are so like your mother."

"I wish I had known her."

"As do I, my love."


	3. Chapter 3

The storm began in the night, a massive crack of thunder rattling the house to the core. Lightning streaked fiercely across the sky and the clouds broiled overhead, angry and dark. Malon stood at her window, staring up into the sky as the rain pelted down, then she looked to the stable. There was a small glow, presumably from Ingo's lantern, shining through the slats. She could hear the blustering of the horses, the shudder of their hooves against the walls as they paced and kicked in worry. She bit her lip, looked again to the sky, then pulled her robe on over her nightgown.

The storm was so fierce that the brief steps it took to get from the house to the stable had soaked her hair and shoulders. She pressed against the door and stepped into the stable, closing it quickly behind her against the pressure of the wind.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Ingo grumbled from the corner. He was sitting cross-legged on his pallet working at a fat piece of branch with his pocketknife. She always knew that the man liked carving. She also knew that he wasn't very good.

"The storm makes me restless." She said, looking around at the animals in the stable, "As it does them. Some of us deserve sleep on this ranch, you may go to the house if you wish."

"The house?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do not mistake my kindness." She said, flashing an angry eye at him, "I want the stable tonight. You may take your rest in the house, or outside." She gestured to the ceiling as another roll of thunder echoed overhead.

"You are too gracious." He spat, then stood, cracking his back.

"I will fetch you when I am ready in the morning." She said, stepping back and allowing him to pass her. He stopped at the door, sweeping her with his eyes.

"You did grow up so beautifully. I curse myself for a fool."

"You are a fool." She said simply, then crossed her arms and did not move until the door had shut behind him. When she was assured that he had disappeared into the house, she turned around and sighed. The horses were nervous, about as nervous as she was in this storm, and after she shed her robe and wrung her hair out on the dirt, she walked toward the animals.

She started with the cow in the first stall, an animal that had a worrisome nature anyway. Her eyes were wide, her ears flicking with each beat of thunder, each drop that slipped through the roof and dripped down on her back. Malon stroked the bovine's nose, then reached her hands around to massage small circles into her cheeks, behind her ears, and down her neck. The animal's breathing softened and she blinked calmly, then Malon began her old Hylian chant.

It was an old rhyme and one whose meaning she had forgotten, but her mouth knew how to curve around the words, how to make the soft sounds and lilting tune of the language come out like the breath of a soft dream. She strove to make the words from her mouth as soothing as they had been the first time she had heard it, the first time he told it to her.

" _Ancient Hylian?"_ _the boy looked amused, his face full of mirth and his eyes flashing at her, "you mean you can't understand it?"_

" _No." Little Malon had scoffed, hands on her hips in a demonstration of exasperation, "and I don't like you saying it to my horses. I want to know what it is!"_

" _It's nice words." The boy had said, stroking the face of the pony. She was a spirited one, this horse, and the boy had calmed her with words the same way Malon had done with music. Though, his words had been like music._

" _I'll teach you to sing to her if you teach me how to speak like that." Malon said. The boy looked at the pony, pressing her head to Link in a demand for petting, then to the girl with her fiery red hair and blustering temper._

" _That's fair!" He smiled broadly._

 _That was the first day he visited her. He had helped her in Castle Town, that was true, but he was a stranger, and a child no less. A child without accompaniment, but confident in his solitude. He knew what he was, he knew what he was doing, and he had passed Talon- worrying at the boy's lack of chaperone- and Ingo, complaining even then about Talon's lack of stamina for hard work- and gone straight for the girl who was plying her voice in the field to an audience of equines._

Her chant finished, she moved on to the second cow, an animal who had already begun to calm at the sound of the rhyme wafting through the barn like a sweet scent. Though the storm did not let up and the thunder still cracked overhead with the anger of the goddesses, inside the stable the world seemed warm, and happy, and dry.

~o~

The rattle of the door shook Malon out of sleep, starting her heart with an uncomfortable jolt. She stood in place, preparing to grab at anything to ward off an attacker. What kind of looter came in the middle of a storm like this anyway?

There was a small wavering light that flashed through the open stall door, and the sound of a worried whinny, then a darkened figure stepped inside. Malon's heart did not calm, but her nerves did.

"Fairy Boy!"

"Malon?" He looked up at her in surprise, his face illuminated by the light of his fairy, then by the flash of angry lightning overhead. Outside the stable, Epona reared and Link did his best to pull the horse back down. Malon ran over and grasped one side of the reins, helping Link guide the horse into the safety of the stable.

He was absolutely soaked through, she noted with some displeasure, and she reached out to brush back his wet hair from his face. She pulled her hand away when she realized his hair wasn't just wet, it was frozen.

"Link?" She asked, her brows furrowing in concern. Link grinned at her sheepishly.

"It's been a long night."

"I can tell." She laughed, taking Epona from him and guiding the horse into the stall. She allowed Link to remove the saddle before she set about to caring for the animal, drying Epona off as best as she could before fetching down blankets for her. All the while, she stole glances at Link.

He had come in wearing a blue tunic. It was one she hadn't seen before and she meant to ask him about it, but when he thought she wasn't looking he had stripped the garment off and wrung it out. She remembered telling her father that Link had come back from his adventures unscathed, but she now realized that wasn't true. His built torso was littered with scars and bruises, some of them looking fresh, and when he turned around to retrieve a different tunic from the saddle bags she gasped softly at a scar that ran its way diagonally across his back.

His fairy floated around him, bouncing back and forth between his ear and the saddlebags. He frowned at the pixie then held out his hand, finger extended, and she perched on it like a bird. Malon could hear him talking to her, but his voice was low and she couldn't understand what he was saying. After a bit, he pulled the soaking hat off his head and wrung it out too, then offered it to the fairy. Malon could understand the sound of fairy laughter, if not the language, and she smiled.

"It's probably bad enough in your hat without it being soaking wet." She said over her shoulder. Link flushed and slung the hat over the saddle.

"I don't like her in there anyway." He said, shooting a good-natured glare at the fairy, "Sometimes I take my hat off and she's braided some of my hair."

"I'm sure it's a lovely effect." Malon laughed, giving Epona a final pat before closing the stall behind her, "Makes that cowlick of yours more refined."

"Cowlick indeed." He laughed to himself and pulled his green tunic out of the bag, tossing it over his head.

"Link," Malon said, her voice getting serious, "Where were you?"

"Why?"

"You always come back to me with stories." She said, trying to sound casual, "and your hair is frozen."

"It's thawing." He said, reaching up to touch the stiff strands. She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

"I have something to show you." He said, his face lighting up with sudden joy. She uncrossed her arms and walked toward him, sitting on the edge of Ingo's straw pallet as Link dug in his bag. He produced a bottle that glowed blue and Malon gasped. At first she thought it was a trapped fairy, but then she realized that the bottle was filled with-

"Fire?"

"Blue fire." Link smiled widely, undoing the cork at the top of the bottle.

"How can it… you have fire in a bottle." Malon said, her voice filled with wonder. The man grinned widely at her, before unceremoniously turning the bottle over and literally pouring the fire on the ground.

"LINK!" Malon shrieked, pulling her feet back in horror.

"It doesn't burn." He said, gesturing to the mass that had settled in a nook on in the dirt and stilled, the blue flames licking at the air. Malon began reaching out for it.

"I still wouldn't touch it-" Link warned, reaching out and staying her hand, "You see, it freezes instead of burns."

"Freezes?" She asked incredulously. Link nodded, then turned to the hat that was sitting on the saddle. He took it up and nonchalantly tossed it toward the flame. There was a small burst as the fire licked over the hat and white ice crystals formed over it. Link took the bottle and slowly nudged the hat out of the way, catching up the blue flame and corking it again. He then picked up the hat, now frozen and stiff as a board.

"See?"

"Link… where on earth do you find such a thing?" she gasped in amazement, taking the bottle from him. The bottom of the glass was ice cold and she could feel the churning of the power through it, reverberating in her fingertips.

"There's an ice cavern in Zora's Domain." He said, leaning back, "Remember when we were kids and I told you about the giant fish?"

"Jabeejab or whatever it was?" She asked, setting the bottle down between them.

"Jabu-Jabu." Link corrected, "The god of Zoras. Apparently fate was not kind to him and he's gone, which left the Zoras susceptible to Ganondorf."

He leaned forward, pressing his face in his hands.

"Link, no one has seen a Zora in years." Malon said softly, "We all thought they died."

"You're not completely wrong." Link said, his voice sounding defeated, "All of Zora's Domain is completely frozen. King Zora was the same, but I was able to save him. He think his people have survived under the ice, but I'm not sure." He pressed his fingers to his eyes and sighed. "I have to go to the Lake, Malon. I know there's something there- something lurking."

"The Lake? Lake Hylia?"

"It's angry, whatever it is. I know that's why this storm happened." He looked up at the ceiling, "Whatever is there knows that I found what I need, it's trying to stall. It's keeping me away."

"I'm sorry, Link." She said, reaching over and running her hand over his shoulders. Link sighed, then looked back at her, smiling.

"You would love the Ice Cavern, Malon." He grinned broadly.

"Yeah?" She asked, feeling a smile play at her lips.

"It's so beautiful. The entire thing sparkles like nothing I've ever seen before. There are giant stalactites and stalagmites littered everywhere, the ice so pure and clear it looks like thorns of glass."

"It sounds a little dangerous." she said, moving closer to him. He leaned back, pressed against the stable wall, and she leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. He reached up an arm behind her and wrapped his hand around her shoulder, but his eyes jumped around as he spoke, as if trying to see what he was describing in the room.

Malon sighed softly, trying to concentrate on Link's words, but feeling her consciousness slipping. She listened to him for as long as she could, playing her part in the story by smiling or laughing or gasping appropriately, before his words began to falter and she could hear sleep tugging at him. Right before she slipped into her dreams, she had one clear, concise thought.

 _Please, Fairy Boy, don't disappear again. Please, just let me see you in the morning._


	4. Chapter 4

She was not so lucky. She wasn't sure what kind of otherworldly power gave him the ability to move so silently, to get the horses not to bluster and stomp at a stranger's presence, but it annoyed her. The place he had been was still warm, so she hadn't been long alone. Before he left he had pulled a blanket up over her sleeping form and she snuggled deeper into its warmth, listening to the continuing storm pounding on the wall behind her.

Her Fairy Boy was off in the world, charging boldly into the clutches of death itself, and he would again survive. He might have another scar on his chest, he might have another moment of quiet pause, his eyes suddenly searching beyond Malon, beyond this world, in their conversation, but he would perk himself up again, as he always did, smile at her with that mischievous, forest-child grin, and tell her another beautiful tale, show her another astounding souvenir, and leave her with one more worry to weigh on her heart.

Lake Hylia.

The first time she had been was as an infant. Not yet walking, swaddled in a black blanket and held by her father as he stood at the grave, wiping tears from his eyes. The grave was fresh then, not packed down as it had become, not just a part of the scenery. A grave on an island, the way she had wanted it.

Malon's mother.

The second time she was older, it was after Fairy Boy left her that final time as a child, the time that prompted her fear of his eternal disappearance. He had smiled and waved, told her he had business in Castle Town, and disappeared for, what, seven years?

 _She had been eleven or twelve, possibly thirteen, the second time they went to the Lake. They left Ingo in charge of the Ranch, anticipating to be gone a few days, and packed up the wagon. They had camped once on the field, her father placing the protective torches and saying the ancient Hylian prayer before returning to his daughter, cowering in the wagon._

" _Soon, sweet." He had cooed, "We'll be safe at the lake tomorrow. You'll love it, it's beautiful."_

" _How beautiful, Father?" She has asked, hoping to coax a lavish description like Fairy Boy's from her father's lips, but he just shook his head._

" _Indescribable, darling." was his reply before laying down beside her with a sigh._

 _She had almost drifted into sleep when the rattle came, the clanking sound of bone-on-bone. Her eyes shot open and she sat up. Her father placed a large hand on her shoulder and pulled her back down._

" _Quiet, love." He whispered in her ear, his voice barely a breath, "They will not pass the torches, but you must remain still."_

" _Father-"_

" _Hush." he said sternly. She did as she was told and they lay there in tense silence, listening to the circling of the Stalchildren. Their shuffling sounded immensely close, the shiver of the bones and their high-pitched, crying groans drifting eerily through the canvas._

 _After an impossibly long time, the sounds began to fade and there was the sound of ripping earth. Malon and Talon let out slow, strained breaths._

" _When will they disappear forever?" She asked. Talon was silent a long moment._

" _I don't know that they will, darling." He said, then turned away from her and drifted back into sleep._

 _The lake was indescribably beautiful, that she agreed, but she also felt that her Fairy Boy would have been able to tell her about the towering dead tree in the center of the lake, the sapphire glimmer of the sun against the water, the splashing of Zoras as they played at the mouth of their mysterious kingdom._

 _Her father had parked the wagon along the leftmost bank, near the two scarecrows that seemed to be guarding nothing. She was marveling at the strange figures when there was the sound of a voice._

" ' _Ho, Talon!"_

 _Her father turned toward the figure, a lithe little man rowing a boat towards them from the little patch just inside the lake. He was one of her father's best and longest-lasting friends, but she never knew his name. She just called him The Fisherman._

 _When the Fisherman got to shore and his boat was secure, he and her father clasped each other in a large, warm hug._

" _It's too long." the Fisherman said, smiling broadly at them, "This one was just a wee thing last time I saw her."_

" _I'm not the only one to blame," Talon ribbed, "I believe I've offered our services as a guest house many times."_

" _Business keeps me away." the Fisherman shrugged and the men shared a laugh. Talon's eyes swept the lake, coming to rest on the tiny island, bridged on either side._

" _It's hard." The Fisherman said, clapping Talon on the back._

" _It's been so long." Talon said, his voice low, "I'm forgetting her voice."_

If the lake was low, that would mean that the island was standing from the lake bed, a column of sadness pushing up into the horizon. Malon closed her eyes, trying not to think of it. Her Fairy Boy was there now, somewhere at the lake, doing whatever it was he did to keep them safe. What had he meant last night? What could be lurking in the lake, meaning to kill? What could have the kind of power to conjure a horrific storm such as this one? She shuddered to think. Whatever it was, she would want nothing to do with it, but Link was off trying to find it, trying to destroy it, trying to make the world right again.

A lighter thought crossed her mind then. Perhaps after Link had restored the lake she would be able to take her father there once more. They could visit the Fisherman, she could wade in the shallow banks and they could sit together at the base of the towering, dead tree. Perhaps that could put some of the old spark back in her father's eye, perhaps that would be what he needed to restore his hope. Proof that her Fairy Boy was saving the world, one small piece of it at a time.

A massive crack of thunder echoed overhead and it startled her out of her thought. She scoffed at herself before standing and picking up the blanket from the ground, folding it over her arm. She couldn't tell what time it was, the sky was so dark overhead that not even the light from the sun would be able to penetrate those thick clouds, but she knew that she was tired of being in this nightgown and her body itched from where straw had poked through the thin fabric on the pallet. Her nightclothes were made for mattresses after all, not stables. After replacing the blanket and finding that her robe was dry from the previous evening (not that it mattered as she was promised to be re-soaked on her way in the house) she turned her face toward the animals. They all stared at her with calm eyes. Whatever that Ancient Hylian rhyme was, it was soothing. Even in the rush of the new thunder and the press of the storm overhead, they did not stir restlessly.

She turned toward the door and opened it, then took in a breath. Laying on the ground right outside the stable was Link's jar of blue fire. She picked it up. turning it over in her hand, feeling the cool fire lick the inside of the glass. Had he dropped it by mistake? She turned the jar over in her hand and couldn't suppress her smile. Across the front of the jar was an old LonLon Ranch label, yellowed with age and peeling at the corners.

He had meant it for her.

She held the jar to her chest and made her way back to the house, pressing her robe around it as she pushed the door open.

~o~

The storm raged for a full week. Its power never wavering, the inky blackness of the sky never thinning. The sun did not shine, and a dark part of Malon wondered if the sun still existed or if the eternal night had swallowed it whole.

She spent each evening in the stable, and most of her days too, whispering Link's rhyme to the animals and tending them as best she could in the confined space. She'd let them out of their stalls one at a time, circling them inside the small building. She played with the idea of letting some of them outside despite the rain, but the next morning lightning struck a tree on the edge of the ranch. There was nothing to do but stand in the gale with Ingo and Talon, all three watching and praying the rain would douse the spreading flame. They had gotten lucky, but if lightning struck the barn, or the house, all would be lost.

On the sixth night of the storm, Malon left the stable wearing just her thin nightgown. Her bare feet sunk into the flooded earth as she made her way to the center of the pasture, black mud squelching up between her toes and splashing onto her shins. The wind whipped her wild red hair around her face, the strands stinging her lips, eyes, and neck. She squinted into the storm, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she trekked into the field.

She set her feet into the earth, loosening her grip from herself, and raised her arms to the sky. Standing there, fingers stretched out to the heavens, her hair flying backwards from the force of the gale, she felt like she had control of the wind. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, screaming into the thunder.

It was not a wordless cry, nor a plea to the goddesses, or a curse of the wind. It was a name.

The only name that mattered.

~o~

Malon woke to strange visions, smears of colors dancing in front of her eyes, and the soft trailing of fingers over her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head, fearing that when she opened them again she would see Ingo sitting at her bedside. The fingers stopped and shifted to rest beside her, the warmth of the close body radiating from her shoulder.

Where was she? Was she in her bed? How did she get here? Why did the world seem so bright through her closed eyes? Taking in a slow breath, she opened her eyes. It took a moment for the world to settle in her vision, greeting her first with a view of a clear blue sky through the window, and the concerned face of not Ingo, but a blond-haired young man.

"Fairy Boy?" Her voice was hoarse, much to her surprise and embarrassment.

"I'm very angry with you." He said seriously, pressing the tip of his finger to her nose.

"What?" She asked, trying to sit up, but he pressed his hand firmly to her shoulder.

"No, no. Stay." He said, "You aren't allowed out of bed for at least three days."

"Why?" She asked, shifting her head. The world began spinning again and she shut her eyes to stop the motion. She began to lift her hand to her forehead, but the rush of air that came in under the blanket chilled her to the bone.

"Ingo found you in the field yesterday morning. What were you doing out there?" He asked. Malon's brain jumped around, trying to make sense of it. She remembered going to the field in the storm, she remembered screaming, and she remembered falling to her knees, letting the rain mask the angry tears that finally found their way down her cheeks. She must have collapsed out there and no one noticed until she didn't come back to the house to change her clothes.

She imagined Ingo stepping out of the house, not finding her in the barn, and looking for her. She imagined him seeing her out in the pasture, lying on the ground in her soaked and mud-splattered nightgown, and she imagined him picking her up, pressing her prone body to his as he carried her from the field back to the house. Her stomach lurched at the thought.

"The storm. It just… it went on forever." Her voice was weak, her mind searching. She wanted him to stay. She wanted to fall asleep and wake up later, clear-headed, to see him still there, still with her.

"Are you up for a story?" Link asked, leaning forward on the stool. Malon blinked slowly at him, trying to speak, but finding herself exhausted. Link smiled sadly at her then put his hand down on the bed, patting her hand under the thick blanket. "Later, then."

"Link- please" Malon said as the man stood. He turned to her, flashing his trademark grin.

"I'm not going anywhere." He leaned down and touched her nose again, "Not until my favorite girl is all better." He turned and left the room, leaving the door ajar behind him. She could hear his footsteps as he descended the stairs, the low murmur of two male voices as he spoke briefly to her father, and the press of his feet on the creaky stairs as he made his way back up. When he came into her room he was holding a jar similar to the one the blue fire had been in, but this one was filled with a thick, soupy, red liquid.

"Drink this." he said, offering it out to her.

"What on earth is that?" She asked, taking the jar from him.

"Something that has saved my hide more than I can count." He chuckled, "I'm going to warn you, the stuff tastes like the wrong end of a deku scrub, but it's good for you."

Malon brought the jar to her lips, letting the syrup barely brush past her teeth before she grimaced.

"Best to just… toss it back." He said, a small twitch in his eye.

"This will make me better?"

"Like that." He snapped his fingers, then grinned. "Drink up, dear."

Malon frowned at the goop, then looked to Link's face, then did as she was told and tossed back the jar.

It slid out of the jar like a solid mass and felt like a slug in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes closed and struggled to swallow it, wincing at the flavors of mulled tree bark, fish oil, and hint of wet feathers. The moment she had swallowed it, however, she immediately perked up. The fever that had spotted her forehead with sweat was instantly broken and her body felt hot and uncomfortable under the thick blankets. She looked to her hands, which had been pale when she woke up, and saw that the color had returned to her skin.

"Your world is a magical place, Fairy Boy." She said simply, at a loss for words. Link merely laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.

"I'll let you get dressed Malon. We have something to talk about."

"What?"

"You'll love it." He said, then turned around and disappeared out of her room.

~o~

"You can't be serious."

"I am." He grinned widely, his white teeth flashing in the sunlight. She raised her eyebrow at him, disbelief written across her own expression.

"Link, I can't. I just… I can't."

"Sure you can." Link said, "I've already asked Talon."

"There's so much work to do here-"

"Ingo can do it. It's only four days. Maybe five."

"Link, I don't know-"

"Come on, Malon. You'll never believe what the lake looks like now."

"I know. It's basically gone." She said, lowering her voice and staring down into the grass. The sun beat down on them from overhead, the wrought-iron fence offering little protection from it. The clouds that had filled the sky the last week were completely gone. There weren't even any white whisps or hints of clouds on the horizon, it was nothing but clear blue sky. She raised her head, watching the horses grazing in the field across from them.

"Malon." Link shifted forward to his knees, scooping her hands up from her lap and clasping them in his own. She looked at his hands, concentrating on the feeling of his rough, calloused fingers on her skin. She was in no way pampered, her own hands bore callouses as well from the work she did on the ranch, but his were rugged and littered with scars. She looked from his hands to his eyes, wide and blue and pleading.

"You have to start trusting me, Malon." Link said, his eyes not wavering from hers, "I told you that I would fix everything. I did."

"What, are you trying to tell me that the lake is full again? And it's all because of you?" She scoffed. Link remained still, then nodded.

"Liar." She scoffed. She wasn't in a mood for his stories. She wanted to know what he really did, what he really was.

"I'm not lying, Malon. The lake is back, and it's fuller than ever. Some of the Zoras have even returned."

"Now I know you're pulling my leg." She said, pulling her hands free of his and standing, "I think I've indulged you for too long."

"Malon-"

"What are you?" She said, spinning around to look at him. He looked smaller than he ever had, crouched in the grass. He looked hurt. She wanted him to. It's what he deserved for disappearing for so long, coming back with beautiful, impossible stories, and abandoning her over and over.

"I've already told you."

"You've told me about massive sentient trees, Link. Caverns filled with oversized lizards and giant fish gods with intestines like a maze. You've told me about phantom paintings and _dragons_! You come to this ranch describing beautiful scenes that couldn't _possibly_ exist. You talk about facing dangers that _no one_ could survive. Your body is covered in scars and bruises all the time. So what are you? Are you a thief? Are you an assassin? What kinds of evil things do you do? Why do you have to come back to this ranch, come back to me, and _lie?_ Constantly!"

"I have never lied to you!" Link said, standing. He was taller than her, and standing the way he was he suddenly looked like a much larger man. His shoulders were broad, his chest wide, and his face was serious. A fire burned behind his eyes and it make her heart beat. "Nothing I have ever said to you has been a lie, or an embellishment. All of those places I've been, all those things I have seen, all the things I have done- I have told you about every one of them. The forest is forbidden to any but Kokiri, but you saw the ring of fire on Death Mountain cool into smoke. You saw the storm and see now that is has passed. I want you to see the lake, Malon. I want you to see what I have done, for you, and for everyone."

He stepped forward, holding out his hand. Malon stared at it, stared at that damaged skin, and ran her eyes from his hands up his arm, across his shoulders, to his face. He was serious, his mouth set in a firm line. Wasn't this what she had wanted? Hadn't she dreamed that he would come someday and ask her to leave with him? After a long, tense pause, she spoke.

"Tomorrow morning."

Link's face burst into a wide grin.

"I need to go to Kakariko, so that's perfect."

"You aren't staying?" She asked, her heart dropping in her chest.

"There's something I need to do." He said, bringing a hand to the back of her head and leaning over her forehead, "I'll just be a few hours." He pressed his lips to her forehead, his breath warm on her hairline.

"Link," Malon murmured uneasily, "Can't it wait?"

"I don't think it can." He said, casting a side glance at his fairy. The blue orb had been sitting lazily on the top of the fencing as they spoke, periodically giving exasperated sighs during the course of their conversation, "Navi has been pretty insistent since we surfaced the lake."

"You have to swear to me that you'll be back tomorrow morning." Malon said, her voice low and stern. Link smiled.

"Of course! You have to see the lake, Malon. It's even more beautiful than before.

"Be safe, Fairy Boy." She said, wrapping her arms around his torso. He returned the embrace, pressing her into his chest and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"I'll be back before you go to sleep." He whispered, "I swear."

~o~

Malon pressed her hand to the glass of her window, gazing at the entrance to the ranch. Sleep pulled at her eyelids and her limbs felt heavy, but she was going to wait. He had promised, he had sworn. He was going to come back, because he was going to take her to the lake.

Part of her knew better than to believe him. She trusted her Fairy Boy, but she knew that she was not a priority for him, no matter what he said. He was full of kind words and sweet embraces, but when the end came if he had to choose between his duty to the kingdom, to the Princess, and her. Well, she knew what he would do. She wouldn't even blame him.

She fell asleep at the window, her body draped over her chair, head resting on her arms crossed on the windowsill, and was woken by Talon's knocking the next morning.

"Malon?"

"Is Link here?" She asked. She cursed herself. She had not meant to say it, but she was not quite awake and didn't have full control over her tongue.

"Malon, can I come in?" He sounded concerned.

"Yes, Father." She said. He opened the door, glanced around her room, then shut it behind him again. He sat at the table in the center of the room and Malon pulled her chair back to it, sitting across from her father. Talon stared at his hands a long moment, then spoke.

"A messenger came this morning."

"A messenger?" She asked, confused. There hadn't been messengers coming by the ranch since the plague took hold of Castle Town.

"Something happened yesterday."

"What? Father, speak plainly." She said, her chest beginning to tighten. Talon sighed, then looked his daughter in the eye.

"There was a fire in Kakariko last night. Many of the townspeople think Link had something to do with it, though no one story is the same. Malon... the boy has vanished."


	5. Chapter 5

_The boy fell back into the grass, his arms stretched out on either side of him. He breathed heavily through his grinning mouth, trying to catch his breath after the effort of his pantomime. The single little girl in his audience, however, was unimpressed._

" _You did not." She scoffed, crossing her arms. He shifted up his his elbows, his eyes and hair wild._

" _Did too."_

" _Did not!"_

" _Did too!" he stood at this final proclamation and began walking away. Malon rose, arm outstretched to stop him, but realized he was just walking to his bag. He reached into the worn leather and pulled out a small bundle. He cradled it next to his chest as he made his way back to her._

" _If I didn't, how did I get this?" He said triumphantly, transferring the bundle to her arms. She bowed under the unexpected weight and sat on the grass. Casting a quick glance at Link, she pulled the cloth covering off._

 _It was… how could she describe it? Three flawless sapphires, the size of apples, connected with intricate gold filigree. The sun glinted off the stones like they were tiny oceans. She ran her thumb over the smooth gold, her eyes lost in the beauty of it._

" _Link. what is this?"_

" _The Spiritual Stone of Water." He said proudly, then returned to his bag with two other bundles. He poured them onto the grass with painful casualty and her eyes widened. a single emerald the size of her head with a swirling gold loop cradling it, and an equally large ruby nestled in gold like a tulip, or a flame._

" _How did you get these?"_

" _I've already told you." The boy said, "I can't help it if you don't believe me."_

" _That's all so impossible Fairy Boy. Giant scorpions? Enormous jellyfish inside bigger fish?"_

" _It's all true, Malon." Link said. "I'm on a mission from Princess Zelda. I'm going to save the world. I've already gotten these, now I just need to return them to her."_

 _Malon felt a strange pang in her chest at this. Link was her friend, but he was devoted to the Princess in a way she couldn't understand. She had a feeling it had something to do with what adults called one's 'duty,' but Malon was selfish and wanted Link to have a duty only to her._

" _Are you leaving again?" She asked._

" _I have to." He said, sliding the gems back into their protective sacks and returning them to his bag,"I promised."_

" _But I don't want you to go yet." She said, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, "I'm always lonely here, I don't have any other friends."_

 _Link stared at his friend for a moment, then smiled and reached out a hand. He ruffled her hair and grinned broadly._

" _I'll never leave forever. I'll always come back for you."_

" _Do you swear?"_

" _I swear. You need to see the rest of the world. You can't stay stuck at this ranch all the time."_

" _I'll be waiting, Fairy Boy." Malon said._

" _I swear." Link said, slinging the bag over his shoulder, "I'll be back soon."_

 _It would be seven years before she saw him again._

Malon reached up a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She tossed her head back, face toward the sun beating down on them, remembering the rain from all those months ago and wishing for cloud cover. She returned her gaze out in front of her, at the workers who were buzzing around Kakariko like bees.

The reconstruction was almost finished. The roof and one wall of Impa's house had to be torn down, but now the village was full of the smell of new wood and the workers were finishing the last of the shingles. A few other houses had some damage, but none as badly as Impa's house. The shooting gallery had to be re-roofed, the chicken hutch needed replaced, and the last of the new windmill blades was being placed tomorrow.

Malon leaned back and looked in her stock crate. Five milk bottles remained, out of the thirty she had brought this morning. Even selling at a quarter the value, she was making a decent profit. Not that she had wanted to profit from this, but Talon pointed out that some people were more than willing to pay, and she was at liberty to freely give to the needy. She looked around, then picked one up and popped open the top. As a child, Talon hadn't allowed her to sample the wares, but he probably knew that uninhibited, she probably would have lived off of LonLon Milk.

A bell rang out in Kakariko and the workers let out a whoop before packing up their things. The workday was done, the workers would go to their homes and be with their families, and Malon would pack up the four bottles that were left and go back to the ranch. She cast a glance at the other peddlers around her, one man selling a red liquid that looked like what Link had given her, but carried none of the potency, and another selling fish he claimed were from the restored Lake Hylia. She shook her head and hefted her crate. She would not return the next day.

Epona was tied to the tree at the base of the Kakariko Steps, staring out into the field the way she tended to do. Malon had found her in that exact spot after Link's disappearance, tied to the same tree in the same manner, staring out into the field. When she had tried to release Epona and take her home, the horse had flatly protested, whinnying and kicking as Malon had never seen her do before. After a few weeks, the horse stopped kicking, and after a month had allowed Malon to lead her home.

It had taken another three weeks in Malon's ranch before Epona seemed to give up on Link, throwing the equine into a depression that mirrored Malon's own. She ate sparsely and stayed in one corner of the field, eyes never straying from the ranch entrance. One day Malon got an idea and hitched the proud draft horse to her cart. She had hoped that the exercise would pull the horse's mind away from her missing rider. Obviously it hadn't worked. Even now, three months after the fire, she kept her large brown eyes trained on the horizon every chance she got.

"I know, darling girl." Malon said, lifting the crate to the back of the cart. She untied Epona and took her place on the wooden bench, beginning to lead the horse, "I miss him too."

~o~

The smell of stew wafted through the house, assaulting Malon's nose as she walked in. She had never been one for stews, preferring a simple meal of bread and cheese before returning to her work with the horses, but now she kept a pot on in the corner nearly all the time. She reminded herself that it wasn't for her as she picked up an earthenware bowl, scooping the thick brew into it with an audible slurp. She weighed the bowl in her hand, doubt flitting across her mind. He probably wouldn't eat it. Well, he wouldn't eat it alone, but if she could get a few good swallows in him while she was there, it would be enough.

She turned toward the staircase and her eye fell on the shelf next to it. The glass jar was there, its blue glow dancing on the wood. It seemed to defy the fire in the corner, which was the only other source of light in this room. The azure flame licked the inside of the glass playfully. She let herself smile. It was not wonder her Fairy Boy had liked the blue flame so much, it was just like him. She felt a soft prick at her eyes and she shook her head, bringing her thoughts back to the present, and started up the stairs.

The bed that had been hers since childhood was now occupied with another figure. His chest rose and fell quickly with his shallow breaths, his jaundiced skin stood out painfully against the old quilt, and his bloodshot eyes searched the room in the haze of wakefulness.

"Father?"

"Malon." Talon replied, his voice hoarse and rasping. He raised a hand to her in greeting. She smiled back at him before pulling up a stool and sitting next to his bedside, bowl of soup balancing in her other hand.

"I've brought you some stew." she said. Talon smiled wryly, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"I haven't an appetite darling, you know that."

"Please just have some, Father. I know I'm not the best chef, but pay your daughter some flattery."

"Your cooking is fine." He said with an air of exasperation. He pushed himself up against the headboard with a low groan before settling back down on the pillows and taking the soup in his hands. He blew on the steaming bowl then lifted the edge slowly to his mouth. Malon watched him drink, making sure that he actually took the soup into his mouth instead of just touching his lips with it. He had tried that trick with her a few days ago and she had scolded him like a child. This time he did drink, but only a little, before giving the sloshing bowl back to her. She placed it on his bedside table.

"Malon," Her father said, his eyes searching the wall on the opposite side of him, "I need the paper."

"Father, no." Malon said sternly. Talon turned his head, fixing his sunken eyes on hers.

"I do. It's close, love. It's so very close, and I need to make sure everything is settled for you."

"You aren't as far gone as all that, Father." Malon said matter-of-factly. She stood from the stool and smoothed her hands over the bedspread, "You'll be right as rain in a few days."

"You know that's not true." He said seriously. He reached out and caught her wrist in his hand, stopping her. She tried to pull her hand away, but was surprised at his grip. "This is very serious, Malon. I am dying. You cannot stop it."

"You aren't dying."

"I am." He said, releasing her. He studied her face for a long moment before closing his eyes with a sigh. "You cannot hold to hope the way you do, Malon. There is no good in it."

"What else is there in this world?" She said, trying to sound light and casual, but his face remained stern.

"Practicality." He shook his head, then gestured for her to sit down. "If you will not allow me to write this, I must say it to you. It is important, at least for me, that you know this." He looked to his daughter, waited for her small nod, then began.

"I don't speak of your mother often, or in detail, for two reasons. The first reason is because of what she was. She was a Gerudo. I do not know how or why she came about the ranch, but she came much in the manner that your Fairy Boy did the first time. She was sixteen years old, I was seventeen, and I was immediately smitten with her. She told me that she needed to hide from her kind, they would come searching, but they wouldn't make her return if she had built a life outside of the encampment. At that point in time my father had died and my mother was aging very rapidly. She gave me her consent and passed the farm to me before retiring and living the last of her days in Kakariko.

"I don't think she was in love with me at first, but in time we grew to admire each other. It was then that I learned what an optimist she was. Every storm she would speak of nothing but the blessing of rain, and the joy that a blue sky would be after it was over. Every time a colt was born she would rejoice, and every time an old horse died she would perform a Gerudo ritual in the animal's honor, but never lost that cheeriness. I, on the other hand, inherited my father's concern and my mother's pessimism. I'm sure I drove your mother crazy, but somehow we fit. Then she told me that she was pregnant.

"Don't be hurt by this, Malon, but I never wanted children. I saw the way my parents broke their backs to provide the smallest amount of support for our own tiny family of three, and when she told me I was in a complete panic. She told me not to worry. Your mother was full of joy and hope, and by the time that the child was ready to be born, her optimism had begun affecting me. I found myself excited, overjoyed even, at the idea of having a child. She gave birth here, in this room, with only myself and a midwife from Castle Town. That child was not you. It was a boy, but he only survived for three days before passing quietly in the night. We were devastated." Talon closed his eyes, tears lining the edges of his eyelids. Malon could feel tears in her own eyes, but she made no move.

"When she told me later that she was pregnant, I was terrified. She was back to her cheerful self, as if the other child had never existed, and I feared nothing but the worst. When the time came for you to be born I was a complete wreck. It was exactly like the first time, except you survived."

Talon closed his eyes. His body had begun shaking with sobs, and Malon realized that this was probably the first time Talon had ever spoken about her mother like this. Even the Fisherman, as good a friend as he was, had been there from the beginning, Talon hadn't needed to air out his emotions like this. Her father took a breath and continued.

"She got sick right afterwards. It was a week, maybe two, before she was so sick she couldn't leave this room. I hired Ingo to help with the farm work, he was the son of one of my father's most trusted friends, and I figured that he would have our best interests at heart. Your mother was sick for a long time before she finally passed away one night, right here, in my arms." He held his arms out as if he was cradling someone.

"The reason I say these things to you is because I had hoped to spare you that kind of pain." He wiped the tears from his face, "I had hoped that by keeping you on this ranch, keeping you away from other people, you would never have the chance to fall in love, and never feel the pain of the loss like I did."

"Father," Malon said, furrowing her brows, "That is so… that's just so backwards."

"I know." Talon said, his voice full of shame, "I realized that when you were young. A part of me knew that I couldn't keep you from falling in love if that's what fate or the goddesses had planned for you, but I wanted to protect you." He cast his gaze back down to his legs, still under the quilt, and took fistfuls of the fabric in his hands.

"Then we went to Castle Town, and you met that boy."

"Father?" Malon was taken aback by her father's sudden anger.

"I wasn't worried until he came to our ranch. He was an innocent child, ever helpful and cheery, and I thought nothing of him, until he came to the ranch. A young child all dressed in green, a fairy following behind? I had heard tales of the Kokiri, but I didn't want to believe that's what he was. Besides, you seemed so happy to have him there with you. I suppose I assumed that as long as he didn't try to take you from the ranch, it would be just fine. They live forever, after all. I guessed that someday he would get bored, or realize that you would grow up when he wouldn't, and return to the forest for good. He would be a happy childhood memory for you, and we'd be no worse off than before."

"He wasn't Kokiri."

"The moment I opened my eyes to see his face above mine in Kakariko, to see that boy telling me that the ranch was back in your hands and I needed to return to you… I didn't know what to feel. I wanted to ask him what had happened to Ingo, what he had done to restore to us the ranch. Part of me was grateful that he had come back, saved you from whatever hold there was over me, part of me was furious. I wanted you to be happy, Malon, but life is not happy. The world does not give us hope, and that's what the boy was. He was hope, he was a dangerous kind of hope."

"Link was not dangerous." Malon said, her voice failing her. Her shoulders had begun to shake with the weight of her suppressed sobs and she brought her hands to her cheeks to cover her shameful tears.

"The way you are feeling now, Malon," Talon said seriously, "is the way I felt every time that boy left you. Every time I saw that look in your eye as you watched him go, and I knew that someday he would leave and never return. Despite his promises, despite his stories. If the things he told you were true, he was going to die in service to Princess Zelda, and there was no other fate for him. The boy was not dangerous, no. But what he represented for you was."

"You know nothing of it, Father."

"I know everything." he said sternly, "I know the way you looked at him because I had seen it before. It was the way your mother used to look at me. You loved that boy, Malon. There's no use in denying it. Just as there's no use denying that he is gone."

~o~

Malon woke up screaming. It was the kind of nightmare that she thought she had gotten used to in the last few months, but this one was so violent, so different. She had been plagued by visions of giant guillotines and raw, blood-soaked hands that dropped from the ceilings. There were walls that were not walls, and platforms that dissolved into nothing when she landed on them, throwing her into the pit of a black abyss. She woke from her nightmares with the smell of rust and blood and mold clinging to her sinuses, and a dark, sinking feeling that she was being watched, or hunted. All of these she had gotten used to, had gone from waking screaming, to waking with small whimpers, or just tears falling down her cheeks and soaking the old pallet, before wiping them away and beginning her day.

This dream had started differently. She was in a stone room with a single hole in the center of it. When she looked down, she could see a white surface underneath. Taking in a breath, she lept.

The monstrosity that met her was the most horrifying thing she had ever seen. A giant glowing red eye, lolling lazily in an open, weeping, decapitated neck. The arms that came out of the shoulders ended in stitched up stumps, but there were two disembodied hands that began pounding on the ground around her, sending her flying into the air with the booming sound of a drum beat.

She shook her head, closing her eyes tight and digging her palms into her eyelids. She watched the stars burst in her eyes for a brief moment before she shook her head and rose from the pallet. She ran her hands through her hair, shaking loose hay from the red strands before brushing off the front of her nightgown and turning toward the pot. The stew was still bubbling and she ran the spoon over the top of it, flinging out the soup skin, before reaching for an earthenware bowl.

"That's not necessary." Ingo's voice was rough and jolting, making her drop the bowl. She frowned at the shattered pieces and began to pick them up. Ingo approached her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why are you here?" She asked, her voice low.

"I told you that's not necessary." Ingo said, hooking his arm under her arm and yanking her up.

"He needs to eat." She hissed, wrenching her arm away from him.

"He is past the need for food." Ingo said. His voice was strange.

"What does that mean?" Malon asked, voice full of venom.

"Go see for yourself." He turned his body, gesturing to the stairs. Malon glared at him, then her eyes flicked to the stairs. Keeping her eye on Ingo, she started for the stairs and made her way up. Her heart beat heavily in her chest, the creaking of the steps echoing in her ears.

The door felt like it weighed a thousand pounds as she turned the handle and pressed it open. She let her eyes sweep over the floor, trailing across the ancient rug, past the worn down wooden floor, and up onto the bed.

Where the blanket had moved with the press of his shallow breaths just hours before, it now laid still. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed in an expression of deep peace. She let herself approach the bed, blood draining from her fingertips as she reached out and brushed his cold skin.

"It happened just a few hours ago." Ingo said, startling her as she stared at her father.

"Why were you here." She said simply. Ingo touched her shoulder, causing her to turn around.

"I was helping him execute his will, because you would not." he reached to the piece of paper sitting on the dresser, raising it to her eye. "LonLon Ranch belongs to me."


	6. Chapter 6

Malon stood at the bank of Lake Hylia and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks freely. Anyone watching would assume that they were for her father, and to be perfectly honest they would not have been wrong. The passing of her father meant more to Malon than the loss of a parent, it was the loss of her whole way of life. Talon had been her protection, as little protection as he managed to provide, and now that he was gone and Ingo had the signed will passing LonLon into his care, not Malon's, she saw no clear future for herself. But that is not why she wept.

Malon let her eye sweep over Lake Hylia. The sapphire water lapped at the banks with a calming rhythm, the waters as swollen as they had been when Malon had come here with her father all those years ago. Perhaps it was fuller, the island where her mother, and now father, were buried seemed lower to the surface. On the other side of the lake, the water came up and nearly touched the platform where the now lonely scarecrow stood. Malon wept because she knew in the pit of her heart that her Fairy Boy had been the one to restore the lake, single-handedly. His words echoed in her mind.

" _I want you to see the lake, Malon. I want you to see what I have done, for you, and for everyone."_

He had wanted her to see it. More than that, he had wanted her to see it _with_ him.

A hand wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her into a half-hug. She looked over into the face of the Fisherman. The man did not weep, but his face was stoic with controlled effort and he kept his eyes away from Malon's, sweeping over the lake.

"I'm sorry I never came to see you." he said, his voice low.

"We should have come out more. We didn't really have an excuse. We could have left Ingo at the ranch for a while."

"You never realize how much time has passed until something like this happens." the Fisherman sighed through his nose, then looked at Malon. "Your dad was a great guy. I wish that he hadn't let his worry get to his head."

"He told me everything. About the first baby, about my mother..." she dropped her head. The Fisherman sighed and brought his hand to the back of her head, tussling her hair softly like he did when she was little.

"He was a man who liked to be prepared, and in his mind being prepared was the same as seeing the worst in every situation. There isn't a lot I can say..."

"I know." Malon said. "I'll miss him."

"I will too." the Fisherman breathed, pulling Malon into a hug. She wasn't sure how this man was going to find the strength to continue living at the lake, knowing that two of his best friends were buried on the island. She knew that she would find it immensely difficult to return to this beautiful, glittering place, filled with the memory of three souls lost to her.

The Fisherman released her, sharing a sad smile, before turning and walking toward his boat. He would retreat back to his home, back to the fishing hole where he had made his living, and live his days there alone. He would entertain the rare customer with as much gusto as he could muster, she remembered the way his face lit up whenever someone would come in when she was a child, but the days for the simple pleasures of fishing had passed. The lake saw few visitors, and this man would soon die and no one would notice the absence.

Malon closed her eyes, bringing up a hand to wipe the tears from her face, and whispered into the wind.

"Goodbye, Fisherman."

~o~

Ingo was silent as he drove the cart, keeping his gaze fixed forward. Next to him Malon kept her hands crossed in her lap, trying her best to keep her breathing steady. She didn't want to cry in front of him, she had already shown too much weakness in front of him, and she was terrified of what was to come. Technically speaking, Malon belonged to Ingo now. Despite what Talon had told her he had never officially nullified his first contract regarding his daughter and hired man, and there was the matter of the ranch. No matter what happened to her, Malon needed to ensure the safety of her animals.

"Am I so reprehensible to you?" Ingo asked, his voice startling her. Malon wondered if she had been speaking her thoughts aloud.

"Pardon?"

"I am a gruff man, Malon, I do admit this." Ingo said, his voice low, "And I realize that I am not the most desirable suitor in Hyrule, but I am only a man, and I do care about you in my own way."

"Why do you say these things?"

"I can see the fear written on your face, dear girl" Ingo sighed, looking at Malon, "I told you before, I know you well."

"Not as well as you think you do."

"Better than some." he bit back. Malon flushed and felt her fingers digging into the black cloth of her dress.

"Do not speak of it." she said after a pause.

"Why?" Ingo asked, frustration pulling at his tone, "Why are you ashamed of what we had between us? I could almost understand it before, when that boy would return to you with promises of a better future, but now he is dead and you have nothing to hide."

"Do not speak of him." she hissed, her eyes flashing angrily. "And do not speak of those things you do not understand."

"It is a childish thing you cling to." He whipped the horses, stirring their speed. "The world isn't pretty, dear girl. I know that's something your father tried to teach you, but you are so bull-headed that it doesn't seem to have sunken in."

"I know the world isn't pretty." she said, realizing how childish she really did sound, but she couldn't help it. She thought about when she saw Link's torso in the barn, the scars that skipped across his skin, the blossoming bruises, and the way that he smiled though he was in pain. The way he told her his amazing, miraculous stories and left out how he must have made an agreement with the Goron King while soaking his tunic with his own blood, how the fear must have gnawed at his soul when he realized that he was a Hylian in the Kokiri forest and already doomed to become a Stalfos after death. The world wasn't pretty, but Link had made it beautiful.

"Things are going to change at the ranch now. I believe you understand that, at least."

"Of course." Malon's voice was low, barely audible over the squeak of the wheels.

"I will ask you this only once, but I will accept your answer whenever you wish to give it." Ingo said, returning his eyes to the horizon, "Are you willing to marry me, Malon?"

Malon's stomach dropped and she stopped breathing for a moment. Marry Ingo, after all that had happened. After the way he had treated her, the way he had used her and her Father. After wrenching the ranch from her grasp right at the moment she was most vulnerable.

"No." she said.

"Then you are to stay in the stable." he said. Malon looked at him incredulously, but his expression remained blank.

"What?"

"LonLon Ranch is mine now, which means that the house belongs to me as well. If you wish to live in the house, you will agree to marry me. If not, then you are no better than a farmhand."

Malon felt tears well in her eyes again and she held her breath in an effort not to cry. This was too much, this was all too much. Link vanishing, her nightmares, Talon's death, and this.

Malon didn't reply, and remained silent all the way to LonLon. She took the reigns from Ingo, allowing him to jump off the cart and approach the house as she led the ponies to the corner of the field, unhitching them and taking up their reigns. She led the animals to the barn and rubbed them down, cooing the Ancient Hylian chant in her shaking, sob-soaked voice, before setting them up with fresh food and water. She found herself wondering if marrying Ingo would be the better option, perhaps that way she could inherit the farm after he died. Then again. why would he do anything to benefit her like that? She had already given into him once, and it had empowered him enough to feed his cruelty for so, so long.

Malon curled up on the pallet in the corner of the ranch, tucking her hands under her head. Tomorrow she would wash the pallet and restuff it. She would find some way to sneak into the house to retrieve her clothes, and Link's jar of blue fire. She would set up a space for herself inside this barn, she would make the best of it, and she would survive.

~o~

 _Malon's body shook with her sobs, her breath hitching in her throat as she wept bitterly over the table. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know what was going to happen. She was so young, barely seventeen, and now all seemed broken._

 _Castle Town was now given up as lost, the plague having killed anyone who hadn't fled to Kakariko, and now there were rumors of gibdo roaming the streets. What if they broke past the moat? It wouldn't be hard. On top of everything, Talon had vanished, leaving behind a note reminding Malon to be the good girl she had always been and that he wished her the fondest farewell._

 _The door opened behind her and Malon shot up, wiping at her eyes hastily. Ingo stood there, hand resting on the heavy wooden door._

" _Malon? What's going on?" he asked, voice full of concern._

" _It's nothing, Ingo." She said, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. The older man entered the room and shut the door slowly behind him, letting it click shut softly._

" _You can tell me, Malon." Ingo murmured, taking a seat across from her. He reached across and took her hands in his, his fingers were calloused and warm._

" _It's just… Father has vanished. I don't know where he's gone, but he left a note." she nodded to the paper on the table._

" _I'm sure he's safe." Talon said, raising his eyebrows sympathetically. He squeezed her hands and Malon sighed and smiled._

" _I'm sure he is. He probably just wanted to get out of work for a while."_

" _That's it, I'm sure." Ingo smiled, then reached out and brushed his hand along her jaw. Malon flicked her eyes toward him, taking in the strange look on his face. "You are so beautiful. Malon."_

 _Malon's gaze fell and she flushed, but did not move away from his touch. His fingers lingered on her cheek, tracing small circles on her jaw, his thumb brushing past her ear. The touch was comforting, his presence was comforting. If there was anyone in the world as equally affected by Talon's disappearance, it was Ingo._

" _Ingo… please stay with me tonight." she heard herself saying. Ingo smiled softly._

" _Is that really what you want?"_

" _I know you and father have been talking about it." Malon said, "About… you and I marrying. I wasn't sure at first, but…"_

" _I'm your best option?" he asked, eyebrow raised._

" _No, no-"_

" _I understand, Malon." Ingo said, a laugh in his voice, "I'll stay with you."_

 _The next morning, when Malon awoke to see Ingo in her bed, her heart sunk. Shame filled her, tingled in her chest like a flitting bird, and she decided to quickly dress and forget everything about it. When she reached for her shift, though, it moved Ingo's overalls and a piece of paper fell out of the pocket. Curious, she reached for it and unfolded it carefully. As her eyes swept the page, her shame was replaced with rage._

 _Her slap woke him and Ingo rose with a shout._

" _What is this?" Malon demanded, shaking the paper._

" _It's a marriage contract." Ingo said, his voice heavy with sleep._

" _A marriage contract?" Malon said, throwing it at Ingo._

" _I wrote it up with Talon." Ingo said, "A few weeks ago. He thought you would be okay with everything."_

" _Okay with everything?" she repeated, her voice high with fury. "My father thought I would be okay with being given away like an object?"_

" _You seemed fine with it last night." Ingo said suggestively, reaching out to put a hand on her hip. She slapped him away and reached for her dress, pulling the garment on hastily._

" _I want you to leave, I want you to get out." she said, "I don't even want to look at you. I don't care where you go, just disappear."_

" _I don't think so, darling." Ingo hissed, standing from the bed. He picked up the paper and unfolded it. "Your dear old dad didn't read this contract very thoroughly, I'm afraid. This says that you are now legally bonded to me," he pointed to a line. "Because you are part of the ranch property. LonLon is mine, and there's nothing you can do about it."_

Malon woke from the dream with a start, her eyes searching in the darkness wildly. She had forgotten for a moment where she was. When she remembered, she sat up and pressed a hand to her forehead. She hated having that dream, she hated reliving her worst moment over and over in her mind. She figured she should be grateful, at least this dream wasn't the kind of psychological horror her nightmares had turned into lately, but in its own way this was worse. This had actually happened, whereas she couldn't see any of the other things existing in real life.

She attempted to settle back on the pallet when she heard a groan.

It wasn't the kind of sound the horses or cows made, and it was distinctive and low. It was a sound she heard before. She sat up from the pallet, eyes open wide, trying to make out anything in the darkness of the stable. In the far corner diagonal from her there was a momentary flash of blue light.

She stood, her heart pounding audibly.

No.

It couldn't be.

Her eyes were playing tricks on her.

There would be nothing.

There would be just boxes of milk bottles in that corner. A pile of straw. Hell, a stray cat or something. There was no way it could be…

He was curled into a ball in the corner, shivering in his sleep. In the moonlight filtering through the slats in the roof she could see that his tunic was mottled with dirt and dark stains, dirtier than she had ever seen it, and his face was screwed up in an expression of pain or fear. She wanted to touch him, but was afraid that he would vanish, afraid that this was part of her dream.

The blue flash returned and the fairy came out of his tunic. She floated in the air above Link's head for a brief moment, her tiny hands stroking his eyebrow in a motion of deep concern, before she turned to see Malon. Navi sped toward Malon, alighting on her shoulder. The fairy's wings brushed against Malon's fiery red hair and her breath tickled her cheek as she whispered. Her fairy's voice was high, the words heavily accented, but they were clear.

"Please help him."


	7. Chapter 7

"Why didn't you tell me we were so low on food?" Ingo's voice bit across the field, startling Malon. She steadied her expression before turning around, dropping the hand that had been resting on Epona's nose.

"I've been distracted." Malon's voice was low.

"At any rate, we're almost out. I can't believe you would be so irresponsible." Ingo frowned, crossing his arms.

"Would you like me to go to Kakariko?" Malon asked. She wasn't sure what she hoped the answer would be. On one hand if he said yes she might be able to find more provisions to help Link. On the other hand, that would leave the stable open for his searching, and Link wasn't exactly hidden away.

"No." he said after an agonizingly long pause. "I'll go. I have business to attend to in town anyway."

"Business?"

"We're not living up to our full potential here." Ingo cast a disdainful eye around the ranch, his lip curling into a half-sneer. "I think we'd get more of a profit from selling it and starting over somewhere else."

Malon's heart dropped and she found herself stepping forward, hands outstretched to Ingo. She almost grasped his shoulders before she remembered herself and dropped her arms, wrapping them around her own torso instead.

"What? What are you saying? Sell the ranch?"

"Exactly that, dear girl." Ingo said, eyebrow raising at the fire of her response, "Do you seriously think we can keep living here? This is hardly ideal for either of us."

"We can't, you can't," Malon stuttered, not hiding her panic. "This place, this ranch, this is my home. This has always been my home-"

"Did you expect to live out your days here like your father?" Ingo's voice was tinged with cruel humor, "What reality do you think you are living in?"

"Why would you sell the ranch? Why take it from me and then destroy it? Is this to get back at me?"

"Get back at you? Do you think I carry around some unrequited love grudge with me like a weight?" Ingo stepped forward. He was too close to her, his face loomed over hers, and she felt small and weak and childish under his gaze. "Whether or not you agreed to marry me, this was my plan from the start. This ranch has been dying for generations, it was dying when your grandparents took it over. It was dying when your father inherited it. Talon's passing was the final nail in the coffin. It's time to move on."

"My father trusted you in some capacity," Malon murmured. "He must have, otherwise he never would have given LonLon to you. He never would have willed you the ranch if he knew this is what you would do with it."

"On the contrary, love. It's _why_ he gave it to me." Ingo took a step back and turned his face to the sky, breathing in deeply. "Your father knew the smell of death in the air. He knew that this ranch was not going to survive, and he knew that you would cling to it until it destroyed you. Despite what you think of me, despite everything that has happened between us, and to this ranch, I have always been your protection. Not your Fairy Boy, not your father, and not this place. Me."

Ingo reached out a hand and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, the touch of his fingers chilling her to the bone. She wished he would take his hand away, but he didnt. He cupped her cheek for a moment, staring deep into her eyes, then dropped his hand.

"After everything else has died, I remain. And you still do not see."

Malon did not answer but stood before him in silence, her fists clasped to her side. He studied her for another long moment before turning away.

"I'll be gone overnight. Have a meal prepared for me tomorrow evening."

"Yes, sir."

~o~

Malon dug her fingers into the wood of the door, pressing it with her shoulder. She knew if she could get it in just the right position, apply her weight in just the right way…

The door came loose with a clatter, knocking her off balance. She righted herself, catching the heavy door before it could fall inwards and propped it back up. Ingo had enough foresight to remove the spare key she kept hidden in a jar outside, but he didn't know about the hinge trick, and Malon would never show him.

Once inside Malon replaced the heavy bolt to the hinge and looked around. She had expected it to either be a pigsty or completely cleared of all her family's possessions, but it was neither. Largely, it looked the same as it always did. Even the jar of blue fire still flickered on the shelf and she made sure to tuck that into her sack first. She then creaked her way up the stairs, feeling as if she were being watched, even though Ingo left for Kakariko hours ago and promised not to return for a while. Even if he did return now, Malon knew how to sneak around this house and she had already put the door back where it belonged.

Her bedroom was also the same as it had always been, save her bed in the corner which was now unkempt. She frowned, eyes tracing over the bunched up quilt. She had always loved that quilt, it was an heirloom from her paternal grandmother, but now when she looked at it she only saw the stillness of Talon's chest, was reminded of the way her father's sickly yellow skin contrasted with the old fabrics. Ingo could keep that old quilt, she had better heirlooms to reclaim.

She made her way around the room quickly, collecting the practical things first- her second pair of boots, a few extra dresses, her other apron, then the sentimental things. A doily her father's grandmother had made, a pair of white pearl-studded shoes her father told her were her mother's from their wedding day, Talon's handkerchief and brass dragon-face brooch. She hefted the bag. There were more items that she wanted, but she had to think practically. If she could keep everything she wanted she would just take the house, but that was not an option.

She made sure the door to the house shut tight behind her, the lock clicking as it slid back into place. It was as if she had never entered it, Ingo would never be any wiser. She opened the door to the stable slowly, whispering lines from the Ancient Hylian rhyme to keep the animals still. She noticed that Link stirred worse in his sleep if the beasts were restless, and she needed him to stay calm. Perhaps if he slept deeply, he would wake sooner.

She went to Epona's stall, which she had moved next to where Link was curled up. At the sight of her long lost rider the horse had nearly trampled him in her joy, but now she remained calm next to him, bringing her head down and blowing on him out of her wide nostrils. Malon smiled at the sight. If Link knew how the three women picked and pecked over him like worried hens he would disappear with embarrassment. Navi, Malon had decided, was the worst about it. She clung to Link's face like a parasite. Then again, she had seen the same things he had seen, been with him on the journey, and from the little she could convey to Malon through her broken Hylian and tinny voice, it had been nothing short of a waking nightmare. Malon begun to wonder if the visions she'd had every night were less her own nightmares and more some kind of shared happening between her mind and Link's. It was strange and magnificent and horrifying, but not outside the realm of possibility given everything he had ever told her.

Malon took a rag and wetted it in one of the horse troughs, wringing it out on the stable floor before waving Navi away and pressing it to Link's face. He winced slightly at the touch and she could see his muscles tense, but he relaxed as she continued the motion, smoothing the cool cloth across his forehead, down his jaw, patting at his neck and around his ears.

She rewetted the cloth and turned to bring it back, but stopped when she saw his eyes were open. He had woken a couple of times before, but his eyes would always roll wildly in his sockets, searching the room, her face, his body, until he closed them again, shivering violently and pulling his knees up to his chest. He had never been truly awake. This time, his eyes were fixed on hers. Wide, but stable.

"...Fairy Boy?" Malon ventured, her voice low and soothing. Link blinked slowly, then let his eyes sweep over Malon, taking in the sight of her. She knew she looked rougher than he had seen her before, and she felt slightly embarrassed. Her dress was dingy, her hand-embroidered apron fraying, and her hair was unkempt. If he joked about it, however, she would be relieved.

Link moved to sit up and winced at the motion. Malon noticed a dark spot on his tunic, a place that had been resting on the hay. Without speaking, she helped him sit up and began undoing the belt that held his tunic closed. He kept one hand in a slat of Epona's stall and the horse had brought her nose down to touch his fingers.

Malon winced with Link as she went to pull off his tunic and felt the tug of the fabric clinging to his skin. The woolen garment was soaked with blood and it had dried to him in places, effectively gluing the tunic to his wound. She made him rise to his knees and turn himself around,lowering himself back to the straw pile on his chest.

The gash across his back ran through his previous scar, creating an X on his back. Malon brushed her fingers around the wound. It was angry and bright, the skin hot, and had begun bleeding again. Malon sighed with new determination and stood, looking for her kit. She had stitched up wounds on horses before, this was no different. By the time she had gathered her supplies she could hear Link murmuring softly, speaking to Navi in Ancient Hylian.

"How are you feeling, Fairy Boy?" She asked as she arranged her supplies, sinking to her knees next to him. Link dropped his head and sighed into his arms, then chuckled softly.

"I've been better."

"I can see that." Malon said, taking her cloth and beginning to clean the wound. Link did not wince at the touch, but did grit his teeth. She was as careful as possible and three rags later had finally cleaned off all the blood. Without the gore around it the gash didn't seem as bad. Malon let herself sigh in some relief as she prepared her needle.

"Do you want a story, Malon?" Link asked, his voice piercing the silence. Malon swallowed, her eyes focusing past the needle for a brief moment.

"I have one for you." She said, watching his expression as she set her needle to his back and made the first stitch. He stayed motionless, his eye fixed sidelong on her face.

"Is it about an impish forest dweller who never keeps his promises?" Link asked, "because I think we may be telling the same story."

"No." Malon smiled wryly. "My story is about a girl who kept her hope, even after everyone else told her she was abandoned. She had dreams of death and darkness, but never believed she was alone. Her dreams turned out to be true, but in the end she was right to keep her hope."

"You saw the temple." Link murmured, his voice barely a whisper.

"I don't know how," Malon said, "and I'm sure I didn't see the worst of it, but if what Navi told me is true, then yes. I saw the temple."

"There were voices there..." Link said, his eyes slightly glazing over, "I was surrounded by shadow and poison, the regrets of the dead fell like rain from an empty ceiling, and there were voices all around. Pale fingers sprouted from the walls and probed my mind, filling it with visions of despair." Malon was startled to see a tear pool in Link's eye and mark a path across the bridge of his nose. "I saw so much death, more than I had before. I saw visions of the world if Zelda and I fail. Worst yet, I saw you..." He turned his head as much as he could, causing Malon to pause in her task and rest her hands on his back. "I saw you in mourning for a father you couldn't save. I saw you taken hostage by Ingo, I saw this ranch burning. I saw my Malon beaten down by the world and I could do nothing but scream into darkness."

"Your visions and mine shared a similar trait, then." Malon said, returning to her task. "There is some truth to them."

"What do you mean?"

"I mourn for a father I could not save." Malon's voice was low and she struggled to keep steady. "And, in a way, I am held hostage by Ingo...due in equal parts my father's lack of wisdom and my own foolishness."

"No matter what has happened, I do not think less of you." Link said. Malon glanced down at him, at his face partially turned toward hers.

"I am so ashamed, Link." Malon said, her voice choked. She knew he understood. The merciless visions may have even shown him, presented the scene before him without any context.

"Malon. You cannot change the past, and there is no use dwelling upon it. That kind of thinking is what creates people like Ingo. Bitter people who think of only what the world should have given them."

"I'm so sorry, Link. I was terrified of your disappointment. It was long ago, before you returned to us-"

"Malon, I don't care." Link said, stopping her. "It could have been yesterday. You are my favorite girl, and all I have ever cared about was your safety. You are alive."

"I should be saying that to you." Malon chided, returning to her work, "You are lucky to have survived. My father was assured you hadn't."

"How long was I gone?" Link asked, wincing only once as Malon tied off her final stitch and tugged out the end of the thread.

"Three months."

"Three months?" Link asked, his eyes wide with disbelief. Malon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes. Did you not know?"

"No." Link said, his voice low, "Time moves differently in the temples. I knew that I was there longer than usual, but…"

"Link, what happened?" Malon asked, helping him sit back up. She guided him in raising his arms and began washing the grime off the rest of his torso. "You literally just… vanished."

"I… I don't even know." Link murmured, his face searching, "I only remember parts of it from the beginning. I remember going to Kakariko and seeing the city on fire. Something came out of the well and grabbed me… it's all so hazy. But… three months?" Link shook his head, pressing his palm to his forehead. "It's no wonder you all thought I had died…"

"My father was sure of it, but I didn't want to believe him."

"Talon…" Link whispered, "Malon, I'm so sorry."

"I'll be fine." Malon mumbled. She began wrapping the cloth around his torso, covering the stitched gash one pass at a time. When the roll was done she made Link hold the end in place as she pulled two hooks from her supplies. She pressed them into the bandage, then leaned back to observe her handiwork.

"How is it feeling?" she asked, guiding him again in lowering his arms. He writhed gingerly, rolling his shoulders up and bending backwards, then forwards.

"Better than before." he said. "You have miracle fingers."

Malon smiled and shook her head. "You're a fast healer."

Link stood shakily, keeping one hand on Epona's stall and brushing loose straw off his breeches with the other. Malon stood quickly and offered her arm for support, which he took gratefully.

"My whole body is sore." Link huffed, shaking his head, "I've never felt so weak."

"Your strength will return." Malon assured, ducking under his arm to support him. He grasped at her shoulder and took a few steps forward, testing his weight on his legs before he loosed his arm from her shoulders and stepped forward more boldly. She watched him walk around the stable, relearning his own body after being nearly comatose for a full day in her stable. She couldn't help but smile as he quickened his pace, circling like one of her horses, and he stretched his arms out.

"I can barely feel it, Malon!" He gasped, flashing her his trademark grin.

"That doesn't mean it's not there!" She called, unable to help her smile as he circled his arms. "Be careful!"

Link approached her, panting lightly with the effort of his run. His mouth was open wide in his grin and his eyes glinted with that mischief that she had come to expect from him. He stopped in front of her, taking her face in his hands. He smoothed his thumb over her cheeks, staring into her eyes, before bringing his face down and pressing his lips to hers lightly. Malon's eyes fluttered closed and she brought her hands up, resting her palms against his bandaged chest.

His breath was warm on her upper lip and she breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of him. That sparkling earthen scent that followed him wherever he went. His lips were softer than she had expected, and even his calloused fingers on her cheeks didn't feel as rough as she had imagined. She felt like her heart was in her throat and the kiss lasted longer than she had expected, and not as long as she wanted.

"I have a proposal for you." Link said, leaning away from her. She opened her eyes, knowing that her face was probably as red as her hair. Link ran the tips of his fingers from her jaw to her forehead and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Already?" Malon joked, trying to ease the tension. Link pushed at her shoulder playfully.

"Malon, if the visions I had in the temple were true… then I know that the Ranch is lost."

Malon swallowed hard and dropped her face, letting her hands fall from his chest. Link caught them up in his own hands and bent slightly, wincing at the pull on his stitches, but managed to re-catch her gaze.

"Malon, there is a way you can save this ranch."

"What?"

"This is going to sound crazy, but we can help each other here." He brought her hands up, squeezing her fingers with the fervor of his new idea. "Your mother was a Gerudo, right?"

"How did you know that?" Malon asked.

"Your father had a strange reaction to a mask I used to have as a child. Besides," he released one hand and took a lock of her hair softly between his fingers and smiling, "this is not the mark of a Hylian heritage."

"Okay," Malon murmured, blushing at the touch, "how does that help you?"

"The Gerudo are notoriously secretive and mistrusting, but if I were to go to the Valley with a long lost daughter…"

Malon gasped softly and pulled away from him, pressing her hands to her chest.

"What are you saying, Link?"

"Come with me." He said, stepping forward again and pressing his hands to her shoulders. "Right now. Saddle Epona, gather food, and come with me."

"Link, I can't just leave…"

"Listen, Malon. If I'm right, this will be a journey of a few days and you'll have your ranch back. If I'm wrong, you'll have a new life and LonLon will be sold to the highest bidder."

"Link... my horses." She said, casting a sad glance around the stable.

"They will be safe. If nothing else we can have the Gerudo send a party to retrieve them. It will take no more than a day or two."

His brows were furrowed, a strange expression on the face that she was so used to seeing wearing cheer and mischief. He was serious. He wanted her to come with him. He wanted her to come with him right now. She couldn't let this opportunity pass again. He was determined, he was strong, and he was also very injured. If she let him leave her sights now she very much doubted they would ever meet again.

"I'll… I'll do it."

His face burst once again into his trademark grin.

"Fantastic! Now I have to go to Castle Town first-"

"Link!"

"Just kidding!" he said, raising his hands in mock defense. Malon frowned and threw a half-hearted punch at his shoulder. He chuckled and she returned the expression before turning toward Epona.

"It's going to be a long night for us, darling girl."

~o~

Epona was laden with the fruits of their efforts. A full bag of what little food had remained in the house, extra supplies to take care of Link's wound, a change of clothes for Malon along with her hairbrush and Talon's dragon face brooch, pinned to the outside of the saddle bag. Link was already astride Epona, the latter of which was practically twitching with her desire to leave the confines of the ranch. She pranced in place anxiously, chomping her bit and casting glances back at Malon as if to say 'hurry up!'

Malon kept one hand on the horse's haunch, looking around the ranch. In the pale moonlight the ranch looked peaceful. The silo stood silent and strong in the distance, a watchtower at the edge of Malon's personal kingdom. The grass of the pasture flowed gently in the midnight breeze and the sign marking this place as LonLon Ranch swung back and forth with a gentle squeak.

"I know what it's like." Link said, his voice like a song in the wind. "I remember when I left the Kokiri for the first time."

"What did you feel?"

"Emptiness." he said simply. "I was a child, I believed I was responsible for the death of the Great Deku Tree, and I was leaving everything I had ever known. My best friend met me at the forest entrance, but she could not follow. There lies the difference, Malon." he reached out, offering a hand to her. "You are not leaving this place alone."

Malon smiled and took his hand.


	8. Chapter 8

Link tugged the reins, pulling Epona from her gallop to a quick trot. The horse tossed her head and pranced, happy to be free to roam the fields with her rider once again but displeased that they had slowed. Malon, however, was grateful for the change in pace. Epona, eager though she may be, was not as strong as she had been due to months of easy use.

Without the wind in her face, Malon was able to open her eyes wider and look around, taking in the details of the scenery. They had just crossed the outskirts of the desert, a place right in front of the canyon mouth where the red desert sands bled into the lush green grass of Hyrule Field. The ground glittered in the sweeping sunlight and Malon couldn't help but smile at the effect. Link pulled Epona to a slow walk, then stopped her at the mouth of the canyon. Malon let her eye wander up the blood-and-rust rock walls, pressing themselves up against the vast blue sky.

"Do you need a rest?"

"I could stretch my legs a bit." Malon said.

"You ride better than I expected." Link replied, smiling as Malon slid off the horse's back.

"I've been riding longer than you, Fairy Boy." Malon reminded him with a raised eyebrow. Link nodded and smiled again.

"You're right." he laughed, "I forget I got Epona from you."

"How on earth could you forget something like that?" Malon asked, bending down and touching her toes. Link slid off Epona and circled the horse, hooking one hand under the beast's jaw and pressing his forehead to her nose.

"I don't know why," Link said, stroking Epona's cheek with his knuckles, "but I feel like I've known this old girl for a long, long time."

Malon straightened and watched Link and Epona. The horse was nickering softly as Link stroked her velvet nose, her eyes reflecting a peace and happiness that Malon hadn't seen in the months they had been left abandoned. She knew what he was talking about, that depth to the horse that set her apart from the other foals. What Malon hadn't realized until now was that the same sense she had about Epona, she also had about her Fairy Boy. Even as a child she realized that there was something different about him, something separate from the fact that he had been raised Kokiri. This was it. He had an old soul, a soul that had lived a hundred lives, died a hundred deaths, and found its way inside him. He was destined for great things, greater things than a friendship with a ranch girl, greater things even than saving Hyrule.

"Let's give 'er a bit of a rest." Link suggested, pulling Malon from her contemplation, "Want to walk up the canyon?"

"Is it safe?" Malon asked in surprise.

"Would I lead my favorite girl into danger?"

~o~

No matter what Link said, it certainly felt like danger. After a few hours of walking, the canyon had opened up into a wide bowl cut in half by a gorge. Link had allowed them to rest for another hour, using the time to brush off Epona and change out his bandage while Malon peeked over the gorge at the river below. She inspected the bridge, which lay tattered and broken on either side of the crevice, and watched a series of men come out of a tent on the other side and observe the pair before retreating back.

"Who are they?" She asked, returning to Link .

"Builders." He said, "Well, what's left of them. The Gerudo have taken a few of their members hostage and they haven't been able to finish repairing the bridge."

"How are we going to get across?" Malon asked. Link smiled and looked up at Epona.

"What?" Malon demanded, pressing her hands to her hips.

"She can make the jump, she's a strong girl." Link said proudly.

"That is so dangerous! You've done it before?"

"Of course." Link smiled, unfazed by her fury. He stood and replaced his tunic, wrapping the thick leather belt back around his waist and tightening it.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm not jumping that thing with you."

"I'm afraid you don't have much choice." Link said, the Gerudo don't like anyone loitering on this side of the canyon."

"What?" She asked. In response, Link merely pointed to the top of the canyon walls. Malon looked up, and was surprised to see a couple women who were standing on top of the rocks, spears in hand. She couldn't make out much details, the women were standing against the sun, but she could see that they were tall and looked strong.

"They'll be coming for us soon. We'll be safe, I promise."

"I can't believe you make her do this kind of stuff." Malon huffed as she climbed astride the horse. Link grinned and got on behind her, running his arms underneath hers to take hold of the reins.

"Hold on." He whispered in her ear, then began leading Epona back. The horse seemed to know what was wanted of her already, her muscles twitching with excitement. Malon pressed her knees into the horse, fingers grasping at the edge of the saddle, as they took position. Epona stomped once, twice, before Link gave a single shout and the horse began bolting forward.

Malon had never known such speed in an animal. The wind rushing through her ears was almost enough to drown out the string of Ancient Hylian that was slipping between Link's lips, words to encourage the horse to go faster. Or a prayer…no, she didn't want to think like that. Epona sped toward the edge of the cliff and at the last possible moment, with a massive heave of her powerful back legs, she sprung into the air.

Time slowed as they passed above the gorge. Malon could see the whitewater hundreds of feet below them, tossing and turning within itself like a river made of boiling water. The roar of the wind and the waterfall was deafening, and for a split second Malon could have sworn that her soul left her body with its arms stretched out to the sun. Then, all at once, they came crashing back down to the ground as the draft horse's hooves made contact with the other side. Epona ran a circle, slowing to a prance and tossing her head in a prideful display.

"Good girl!" Link exclaimed, clapping the horse's haunch with a laugh. Malon was still, catching her breath as Link put his hands on her shoulders.

"See? I told you she could make it."

"I… while I do admit… that was amazing… I do not condone that kind of treatment of my horses." Malon managed to gasp. She put a hand to the hollow of her neck, feeling her heart slow back to its normal rhythm. Link only laughed and took up the reins again, turning the horse toward the narrow canyon now facing them. Before they could go, a fat man emerged from the tent and approached.

"Are m' eyes playin' tricks on me?" he asked, his voice low and husky, " Or is this the little forest boy all grow'd up?"

"The devil himself." Link smiled, sweeping off his hat in a mock bow.

The man shook his head and brought a hand up to rub the back of his balding scalp. "I'll be damned."

"I've heard of your troupe's recent misfortunes." Link said, his voice turning grave.

"Them ladies ain't best pleased wit' us." The man sighed, "But how'd you heard about it?"

"I have connections." Link said with a shrug, "I'll get them back though."

"How'd you plan on doin som'tn like that?" The carpenter asked, crossing his arms.

"Don't you worry about that. Just get prepared to get some real work done, the time for your break's nearly up."

"Just as cheeky as when ya' left us. Damn… seven years did a number on both of us, boy."

"That it did." Link smiled sadly as the man turned and re-entered his tent, then held up a hand to silence Malon. "Listen… you are going to hear some things, and there are going to be issues discussed… and overall it's better not to ask any questions." he said.

"I thought my Fairy Boy told me everything." Malon said, half-teasing.

"Everything I could." Link murmured, then kicked Epona again and started toward the canyon mouth.

~o~

"It is bravery that brings you here."

"Or foolishness."

"He has a woman with him."

"Hylian?"

"With red hair?"

"They are bold…"

The voices seemed to come from all around, but Malon couldn't see anyone. The canyon wall stayed true and tall on one side, while the other broke off and plateaued high overhead. She was sure that was where the myriad of voices were coming from, but it disturbed her that they were seen without seeing anyone else.

Link led Epona up a narrow pathway that led up to the top of the plateau. Malon's mouth opened in awe. Partially carved into the glittering blood-red stone, partially built of stone brick, there lay a veritable palace. Malon could see the women all around them, their chocolate skin glowing in the sunlight, the light fabric of their clothes billowing around their long, lithe limbs. Almost all carried some kind of weapons. Long, curved swords hung from hips. Tall, ornate spears dwarfed their carriers. Beautifully carved bows and arrows were slung over arms. In the distance, Malon could see horses being led up another ramp by more of the women.

While most of the women wore purple or light pink garb, one woman in particular who wore bright red clothes stepped forward, taking Epona's reins and whispering in a language that was neither Hylian nor Ancient Hylian. To her surprise, Link replied in the same language. The two conversed for a moment before Link raised his left arm, displaying the back of his silver ruby gauntlet to the woman. Malon saw her eyes widen for a moment before she said. "Nabooru?"

"No." Link replied in Hylian, "Taken, seven years ago."

"Who." the woman replied.

"Kotake and Koume."

"You are sure?" She had a heavy accent. Her kohled eyes narrowed at Link, and all he did was nod.

"And this one?" the woman asked, gesturing to Malon.

"A lost daughter." Link said, suddenly taking a lock of Malon's hair in his fingers.

"There is only one Gerudo who has not returned to us." The woman said suspiciously, "Can this girl tell her story with accuracy?"

"Can you?" Link asked in a low tone.

Malon nodded. "I can tell them of my mother."

"Come." The woman held out her hand to help Malon off the horse. Malon took it and let herself be helped down while Link stayed astride Epona. He said something else to the woman in the strange language and the woman suddenly began to laugh.

"They are useless anyway." She said, "but if you insist, let's make a game of it."

"Must we?" Link asked with exasperation. "Hasn't enough been done to those poor men?"

"This is a test of you, Forest Warrior." the woman said. "I will take this daughter inside and I will find you. I will test your mettle to see if you are worthy of Gerudo support," she looked to Malon and smirked, "without the help of your woman."

All the surrounding women burst into a flitter of giggles before disbanding. Malon felt strong hands on her shoulders as the woman guided her to a doorway.

"Go inside, there is food." she said, then turned Malon and stared into her eyes. "No need to fear, daughter. All women are safe within the Gerudo."

~o~

It was hours later when Malon saw Link again. In the time interim she had told the story of her mother and Talon so many times it felt sore in her mouth. Link looked much like she felt, coming into the room covered in scratches, blood running down his forehead, and a wide grin plastered across his face.

"Link." Malon said with exasperation, motioning to the seat next to her. Link took his place, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbing his forehead.

"She's a hell of a fighter, Malon." Link said, smiling.

"You fought her?"

"They're a warrior society. I needed to release the carpenters, it was a fair trade."

"You need to be gentle with yourself." Malon chided, leaning back in her seat and running her fingers lightly across his back. "There's no way that is healed yet."

"I've had worse." Link said, winking.

"Who is that woman, anyway?"

"I don't know her name, but I know she's some relation to Nabooru."

"And who is Nabooru?"

"She's… well, the Gerudo don't really have a queen… but she's kind of like their leader. The Gerudo are supposed to be ruled by the one man who is born to them every hundred years, but Ganondorf was too extreme for them and they pulled their support. Nabooru would have been almost like a wife to him, but she became their leader instead. She disappeared seven years ago, though, which left… this woman. I think they're sisters or… cousins. Or… maybe not." Link shook his head. "Their society confuses me. You'll have time to work out the intricacies while I'm gone."

"Wait, while you're gone?" Malon asked, her heart sinking.

"I need to go to the Spirit Temple." Link said, shifting his gaze to the grain of the table.

"You're leaving me here?"

"I have to." Link said, "The Spirit Temple is going to be dangerous. Even more dangerous than the Shadow Temple."

"That's why you can't go alone!"

"That's why I must go alone." Link said, suddenly serious. "I'm so close now, Malon. This is the last piece, the last temple, before I can finish this. Forever."

"Link…" Malon could feel tears welling in her eyes and she shook her head. "I don't want you to go, you can't leave me again."

"Malon. It's not going to be forever." Link said, bringing up a hand and hooking his finger under her chin. "I will come back for you."

"I was so terrified when you disappeared for all those months. All those nightmares, those things you saw… how can you do that again?"

"Malon… it's my destiny." Link said, "My duty to Zelda and all of Hyrule."

"I'm selfish." she said, turning her face to him. "I'm sorry, but it's true. I don't want you to save Hyrule if it means you might have to die."

"Malon."

"Please…" she whispered, reaching for his hands, "Link… just… stay the night with me. I'll let you leave in the morning, I'll bid you farewell, but… just be mine. For one night."

Link studied her face long and hard, his blue eyes piercing the depths of her soul. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly and he brought up a hand, stroking her cheek with his knuckles. Gently, too gently, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

"When I return, Malon," he said, his voice low, "I will be yours forever."


	9. Chapter 9

Malon didn't need the red-clad Gerudo to tell her that Link was gone. They had stayed together at the table, talking of happier things until sleep pulled at her eyes and made her head dip. She cursed herself for it. She knew as long as she was awake he would stay. But her body fought her and eventually Link told her to got to sleep. He followed her to her room, embraced her at the entrance, and promised not to leave the Gerudo camp until she saw him off. She didn't believe him, nor did she begrudge the lie. She had begun taking his promises to mean something else, and in that she would have to be content.

The woman seemed surprised at how well Malon took the news of Link's late night flight into the desert. Malon had simply smiled at her and nodded.

"He has a duty to perform." She said with a forced smile.

"He does." The woman raised an eyebrow at Malon. "You are wise to not be jealous of it."

"I am jealous of it." Malon said simply, "But there is nothing to be done. He will go, I will stay." Malon ran her fingers through her unruly red locks, shaking out the tangles and sighing. The Gerudo woman looked at her thoughtfully and Malon shifted under her studious gaze.

"The other women have taken a liking to you. The story you told of your mother must have been convincing."

"You do not believe it?"

"I did not hear it," she said, crossing her arms. "But I would like to. Do you mind?"

"There really isn't much of a story," Malon admitted, sitting back on her bed. "I was very young when she died, a baby really, so all I know I was told by my father."

"Who was your father?"

"He was a rancher named Talon." Malon said, eyes searching the ground as if she would see her father's face. "He said my mother came to him as a teenager to seek refuge. They fell in love and she died soon after giving birth to me."

"Where is she buried?"

"At the lake." Malon said. "Lake Hylia, on an island. She lies with my father now."

"Your father has passed too?"

"He has. Quite recently."

"And how come you to us?" she asked, stepping into the room and standing before Malon. "How came you to travel with the Forest Warrior?"

"Link… Link has been my friend for many years. After the death of my father I was facing a future of bleak uncertainty. He came and-"

"Swept you away?" She asked, eyebrow raised. Malon flushed and bowed her shoulders. The woman sighed and uncrossed her arms, placing one hand on a hip. "Do you have any proof of your parentage?"

"What do you mean?"

"A keepsake from your parents? Some precious thing to both of them?"

Malon nodded but made no motion.

"Well?"

"Please… do not take them." Malon said, "They are… they're all I have."

"I do not want your small treasures." The woman rolled her eyes. "Let me see them."

Malon turned to the leather saddlebag. She took a breath before pulling it up and reaching inside, retrieving Talon's dragon-face brooch and her mother's pearl-studded wedding slippers.

The woman's expression dropped, as did her bold stance, when she saw the slippers. She bit her lip, eyes darting between Malon's face and the shoes, before she said. "Can I see them?"

Malon held out the slippers and the woman took them in her own hands, fingers gliding gently over the old while silk. She touched the pearls delicately, as if they would crumble at a harsh breath.

"It's true then." She said.

"Excuse me?"

"Your story is true." The woman sighed gently, closing her eyes and pressing the slippers to her chest. "These are Avomo's slippers."

"Avomo?"

"That was your mother's name." she said, "I think Talon called her Amy, so I didn't expect you to know that."

"Did you know my mother?" Malon asked, her heart beating with sudden excitement.

"Yes. I knew your mother," The woman said, a small, sad smile pressing at her mouth. "She was my sister."

~o~

The woman's name was Ferala and Link hadn't been far off in his figuring of their hierarchy. Though not actually related to Nabooru by blood, Ferala had performed a blood pact with her to assume ruling duties of the Gerudo in case of a dire emergency. It was for this reason that Avomo, Malon's mother, left her Gerudo sisters. In the case of Nabooru and Ferala's demise, it would fall to her to assume second place rule with Ganondorf, a role she never desired. She escaped in the dead of night. By the time her Gerudo sisters had found her, she was already married to Talon and content to live outside the desert.

"My heart always told me that she would return to us." Ferala said, finishing her story as the women trekked up the path to the horse track. "And I suppose that, in a way, she has."

She cast a critical eye on Malon. The girl was dressed in Gerudo garb, her ranch clothes having been deemed too ratty to save. A rich blue had been chosen for her and it contrasted well against the girl's pale skin. Malon was uncomfortable with the amount of exposure this outfit provided, but Ferala had assured her that she would get used to it in due time.

"My father used to tell me that I was like her, but I have no way to judge that for myself."

"In spirit, you are very similar. From what I can tell." Ferala sighed, "I simply cannot see a Gerudo-blooded woman being raised by men. How could you bear such a thing?"

Malon laughed and tried to silence herself at Ferala's fierce glare. "Talon did his best for me. We were all each other had."

"That's not entirely true."

"What do you mean?"

"Your Forest Warrior." Ferala said, gesturing widely at the rolling desert behind them. "You had him, did you not?"

"In a way." Malon conceded. "But… he's never been completely devoted to me. He never could be. I… I have to share him with all of Hyrule." she chuckled sadly. "That's a lot of competition."

"The Gerudo have a saying, 'only fools follow the heart.' It is easy to do the things that make only ourselves happy. Both of you have forsaken your own happiness for the good of all. That is a very noble thing. His is a soul that is deeper than our own...a boy who has lived many lives, so selflessness is a trait deep within him. You, however, get your strength from the Gerudo. The blood of the eternal sisterhood flows through you."

Before Malon could answer there was a call. Ferala looked up and smiled broadly, holding up a hand in greeting. A woman walked up to them. Her clothes were more plain and her red hair was cut short around her head, but her face was heavily painted in the Gerudo fashion.

"Malon, this is Gugeru. She looks after our horses and is skilled in the way of horseback archery."

"Ma-lon." Gugeru said, wrapping her thick accent around Malon's name. "Happy to meet."

"You will work alongside Gugeru." Ferala said. "She welcomes an apprentice. I thought this is the place you would feel most comfortable here."

There was a familiar whinny behind Gugeru and Malon leaned to look.

"Epona?"

"Horses cannot cross sands." Gugeru said, "I will protect, but this one is fierce."

"Sprited." Malon laughed. "May I?"

"Prove yourself." Gugeru said with an easy smile.

Malon nodded and approached Epona. The horse's eyes were wild and she huffed angrily. Malon held out her hand and began the Ancient Hylian chant. While the horse calmed a bit, she still paced in place and threw her head. Malon considered a moment, then began her mother's song. As the sound of the old tune echoed on the walls of the canyon, the horse settled herself down, blowing softly, and allowed Malon to approach and stroke her snout. Once she was calm, Malon turned around to see both Gugeru and Ferala staring at her.

"What?"

"Daughter of Avomo?" Gugeru asked, eyes wide.

Ferala broke into a wide grin and nodded. "Yes, daughter of Avomo."

"Many more welcomes, child." Gugeru mimicked Ferala's broad smile and approached Malon with her arms wide. She pulled Malon into a hug and shook her in place, releasing her after a long pause. "You will do well here."

"I hope to." Malon said. She looked into the eyes of the two women before her, one her long-lost aunt and stand-in leader of the Gerudo, the other an old friend of her mother's, and realized that she felt like she belonged.


	10. Chapter 10

The Twinrova were dead.

Kotake and Koume, their bodies split from the massive Gerudo giantess they had transformed themselves into, lay now apart from each other, their hands outstretched as if to touch fingertips. The fire was extinguished, the ice was melting.

It was over.

Link leaned on his sword, face written with relief and pain. His tunic was heavy and wet from the melting ice, his back burned from the fire spell that had struck him. He was protected from the worst of it, but the heat had still made its way through the tunic and he was already blistering across his shoulders.

"Good job, Link." Navi said, landing in front of him and splaying out on the ground. She was just as exhausted as he was, trying to distract the witches as Link aimed his arrows. Link's heart had sunk at one point when an ice spell had struck the fairy straight-on, but she had recovered quickly and seemed no worse for wear. Himself, on the other hand, had lost feeling in his left foot and was afraid that when he took off his boot he would be met with frostbitten flesh.

There was a flash of light that caused Link to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he saw that the witches were disintegrating into black smoke, following suit with every other enemy the man had encountered in his lifetime. He watched as they vanished, their bodies leaving nothing but ashy black stains on the ornate stone. He felt his head swim. It was time, as it had been in every other temple, and he knelt on the floor, waiting for the blackout to overtake his consciousness.

~o~

Link opened his eyes to that strange place between wakefulness and dreaming. He felt stronger than he had before, but his vision still swam as he picked himself up from the cool ground and straightened his back. The sages were around him, in that bizarre, pulsing room, floating on their pedestals. Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, and now…

"Nabooru."

"Hello there, boy." Though her posture was confident, she smiled sadly.

"I am glad to see you unharmed."

"I am disappointed to see you grown." she replied, a laugh in her voice. "If I had known this is how you would mature, I would have fought harder against the witches at the first."

Link blushed fiercely, but stood straight.

"You still would have been disappointed." He said, feeling his heart beat fast. He reminded himself that Ruto, the Zora who had once been his betrothed, was standing within earshot, but what could he do? He knew in his heart that they would never actually marry, and now it was confirmed. She was a sage, after all. She wasn't even on the mortal plane anymore… it was like he had killed all of these people.

"I know your heart belongs to another." Nabooru nodded. She fixed her gaze on him, "but I have grave news for you."

"Grave news?" he asked incredulously, "Isn't that what my whole life has been? I have never hoped for my own happiness."

"In that you were wiser than I. I have seen the future, dear boy. Though I do not know how. I know the fate of your ranch girl."

Link swallowed hard and felt his fists clench at his side.

"I do as well."

"Is that so?" Nabooru raised an eyebrow at him. Link lifted his head, squaring his shoulders.

"I was granted visions in the Shadow Temple. I was offered many versions, as the spirits within the temple tried to find the most hideous things to fill me with. I have seen every outcome, every possible thing that could happen to Hyrule, and to Malon. I have done my best for her, and am content with whatever fate awaits us."

"You will leave her with the Gerudo, knowing what might happen?"

"I will."

Nabooru narrowed her eyes for a moment, then smiled softly. "There is a reason you carry the Triforce of Courage, young one. Very well. I will gladly add my power to yours. May fate be kind to you, and to us all."

~o~

She was deeply asleep. Her hair was splayed out on the pillow, red as fire. The dark blue clothes the Gerudo had given her were strange to see her in, but beautiful nonetheless. They had even managed to talk her into painting her face. Her eyes were kohled and a shimmer of blue swirled on her eyelid. She was beautiful. She had always been beautiful.

"The Forest Warrior returns to us." The soft voice startled Link and he turned, facing the red-clad Gerudo.

"Not for long." Link said, glancing back at Malon. "I-"

"Have business elsewhere?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Link merely nodded. The woman motioned for Link to follow her and turned around. They walked through a series of rooms until they came to what Link assumed was the main dining area. A long table sat in the center of the room, wooden benches lining each side. She bid him to sit and approached with a bowl of stew.

"It is long, this part of your journey, and you may not receive home comforts again," she sat opposite him and pushed the bowl forward. He glanced first at it, then the woman, and nodded.

"How do you know?"

"I was visited last night," she said, "by Nabooru."

"Oh yes?"

"It was a vision, the likes of which I have not had since she was taken seven years ago. The witches' spell was broken, but now she is trapped in a different manner, is she not?"

Link slurped the soup, not meeting her gaze. What was the difference between dying and waking as a sage? Only one, as far as he could see. The sages had lent to him their mortal power. In a way, he had devoured those people. "She is woken as a sage, and as such is no longer part of this world."

"That is what I thought. Are you prepared to use her sacrifice?"

"I am."

"And what of Malon?"

"I..." Link trailed off. Would the Gerudo not keep her? Was that really what Nabooru had been trying to tell him? "What of her?"

"Why have you come back?" The woman raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. "You have strength enough for this task. Why return to this fortress?"

"I... I needed to see her again."

"Why did you not wake her? "

"I wanted to see her in secret. She cannot know I was here."

"You love her. I know you do. Why do you then torture her, and yourself, in these ways?"

"I am not free to give myself away." Link said, raising his face to meet her gaze. "If I was master of myself then there would be no question of it for me. I would have taken her from that ranch and left Hyrule. But that was never an option. I belong to Princess Zelda. She wields me... like a butcher with a cleaver, and when my purpose is fulfilled I'll be cast aside."

"Zelda cares so little for you? Her salvation is riding on your back. She cannot have her best warrior broken."

"This dance is one that has been performed before...I see the same depth of Zelda that others see in me. She knows the past and believes I cannot fail."

"And you?"

"I see the mortal in myself that Zelda cannot. My soul may be old, but the body it inhabits is just the same as any that walk the Earth. It is physical, it is fallible. I am scarred and bruised. I've been broken and abandoned. I ache for normalcy, but know I am not meant for it."

The woman nodded softly. "Loyalty is certainly something that the Gerudo understand, but we are careful to keep each other safe. This usage of your by Zelda… it seems reckless. How many times have you seen the flash of death before you?"

"Many." Link replied, setting aside the empty bowl.

"I do not condone what has been done to you, and I do not understand why you allow yourself to be used in this way. Whether destiny or duty, it has been mishandled." she stood from the table and took the bowl in her hand, weighing the empty dish between her palms. "Zelda believes she is doing what is best for her people, but ignores those who are destroyed in the attempt."

"It is for the greater good."

"There are better ways. A leader is allowed to be selfless for her people. She should never demand selflessness of her allies. But, there is a reason I rule the Gerudo and not the Hylians." She gave a shrug. "So, you have seen Malon and have eaten your fill. You cannot say that the Gerudo withheld their assistance in your final mission."

"I thank you for it." Link said, returning the woman's sly smirk, before standing from the table.

"Link…" she spoke again as Link reached the doorway, causing him to pause. He turned his head to look at her.

"She will do well here." she said after a pause. "So do not let concerns for her safety plague you. She is home."

"I know." Link said, smiled, and disappeared through the door.

~o~

Link carried within him an ancient soul. Older than Castle Town or Kokiri forest, older than Lake Hylia, older even than Hyrule. His part in history was a small, but critical one, which would lay the path for countless heroes after him. In the same manner, they would carry forth this soul within their own prone, mortal bodies. In the same way they would be slaves to the destiny set forth for them by the goddesses. Their decision to break apart the triforce set it in motion. He wondered if the other two players in this dark dance felt the same as he did. The same helplessness. Surely they must, they carried equal parts of the burden as he. They were puppets just as he was.

His life had been planned for him from the first. It was all inevitable. From the death of the Great Deku Tree to the beast that had taken over Ganondorf's physical form, a hideous pig-demon dripping black effluvia from his writhing snout. Link was meant to wake to Navi that morning all those years ago, just as he was meant to deliver tonight's final killing blow, sending Ganondorf's power away from the world, back into the sacred realm in an an effort to safeguard Hyrule. For now. It was always temporary. It was temporary in the previous attempt, this would be temporary, the next time would be temporary. It didn't matter, it never mattered.

Zelda stood over him. The sun was shining behind her through the parting clouds, lighting her hair like a halo. She held out a hand, and he took it. He studied the scene for a moment. His raw flesh, mottled with dirt and blood, grasping her pristine white glove. In fact, all of her was pristine, from her gown to her shimmering gold jewelry. She had been kidnapped, trapped, ran down a crumbling tower, and watched the battle between Link and Ganon, and was still pure and clean.

Link was furious.

She would take credit for the battle. He knew she would. She would claim to have safeguarded the Master Sword when it had been swept from his grasp. The blow had shattered his wrist, forcing him to fight with his opposite hand. She would claim that it was her power that had stopped Ganon long enough for Link to deliver the final blow, but it wasn't so. It was the other sages. It was everyone whom Link had loved or helped, and all he had destroyed in the process. Everyone he held dear, everyone who had given their power to him to aide the mission. Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, Nabooru…

 _But not her._ It was a small voice, soft in the back of his mind, and it comforted him. No. Not her. She was safe. She was with the Gerudo. The fierce band of women who knew nothing but loyalty. They would keep her safe. They would do the things for her that he could not. He had loved her most, and he had assured her future. That was enough for him.

"We've done it." Zelda said, her voice low. "He's gone."

"For now." Link replied.

"Yes." She cast her eyes to the ground, taking in the smears of blood and grime that coated the broken stones. Ganon's body was dissolving into black smoke.

"What is left for us now?" Link asked, feeling his legs shake under his own weight. He was weak. so very weak. He wanted nothing but to lay on the rubble and fall asleep, but a part of him knew that if he did that he wouldn't wake again.

"This is my fault." Zelda said and Link looked at her in surprise, but said nothing.

"This is my fault…" she repeated. "I was so young… I had so many grand plans, but I did nothing but open the Sacred Realm to Ganondorf. And you… I didn't think-"

"This wasn't your fault. Princess." Link said. She looked into his eyes for a long moment, then nodded.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought that you carried the Triforce of Wisdom."

"Wisdom comes in many forms. Recognizing… and accepting your past.. is one." He dropped his head, a small smile playing at his lips. "We have lived many lives, you and I, but each has been its own. This is no different."

"You are right." Zelda said. "But… I think I know a way I can fix this… for one of us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She pulled out the Ocarina of Time, brushing her fingers over its cool surface. "I am the Sage of Time… I can… I can send you back. Link… I think I can send you back in time. It will repair the rift… Ganondorf will stay in the Sacred Realm and it would close the Door of Time… forever. As if it never opened..."

"But… what about what we've done? What we've accomplished here?"

"My rash decisions have destroyed more than they have saved… I can see that now. I do not know the fate of those who have lived through the things we have done in this timeline… but if I send you back it will create another. One where the Triforce of Power is safe… and… you will live a normal life."

"Will I… will I remember everything?"

"I cannot say." Zelda said, her face turning red. "Time is an intricate thing… it is impossible to know all the outcomes."

"And what if I stay?" Link asked.

Zelda looked him up and down and sighed. "I don't think you'll survive the night."

Link looked down at himself, realizing she was right. He was coated in blood, most of it his own. His ruined left wrist lay twisted at his side. Several broken ribs ground together with each heaving breath. A sharp pain throbbed deep within his body, and even now the edges of his vision were spotting with black. He shook his head and steeled himself, flashing the princess his trademark mischievous grin.

"It's worth a try."

Zelda nodded and brought the Ocarina of Time to her lips.

As the white light surrounded Link, bleeding between his eyelids, shining like a halo around his body, and the too-familiar press of the shredded years pulled him into the abyss for the final time, he allowed himself to call into the void. It was not a wordless cry, not a plea to the goddesses, nor a curse of his fate.

It was a name.

The only name that mattered.

* * *

 **A/N:** **I hope you enjoyed this! Reviews are always welcome. Thank you!**


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